THE  LIBRARY 

OF 

THE  UNIVERSITY 
OF  CALIFORNIA 


GUT  OF 
Professor 
Emily  H.  Huntington 


/H^a-^-a-AjscJ^ 


THE   PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIEF 


THE 


PRINCIPLES    OF    RELIEF 


BY 
EDWARD   T.  DEVINE,  PH.D.,  LL.D. 

AUTHOR  OF   "THE  PRACTICE  OF  CHARITY" 

GENERAL   SECRETARY  OF  THE  CHARITY  ORGANIZATION 

SOCIETY   OF  THE   CITY  OF   NEW  YORK 


gfltfc 

THE    MACMILLAN    COMPANY 

LONDON  :  MACMILLAN  &  CO.,  LTD. 
1904 

All  rights  reserved 


COPYRIGHT,  1904, 
BT  THE  MACMILLAN  COMPANY. 


Set  up  and  electrotyped.    Published  October,  1904. 


NortoooO  Jpress 

J.  S.  Cashing  &  Co.  —  Berwick  &  Smith  Co. 
Norwood,  Mass.,  U.S.A. 


LOAN  STACK 


GIFT 


HV40 

D55 


CONTENTS 


PAKT  I 
PEINCIPLES 

CHAP.  PAGE 

>'  I.    SOCIAL  DEBTORS 3 

II.     THE  ESSENTIALS  OF  A  RELIEF  POLICY      ...  10 

III.  THE  STANDARD  OF  LIVING 29 

IV.  THE  ELIMINATION  OF  DISEASE 47 

V.     THE  HOUSING  PROBLEM 62 

VI.     THE  RELIEF  OF  FAMILIES  AT  HOME  ....  73 
y  VII.    RELIEF  AS  MODIFIED  BY  THE  CONSTITUTION  OF  THE 

FAMILY 80 

VIII.     THE  BREAKING  UP  OF  FAMILIES         ....  97 

IX.     DEPENDENT  CHILDREN 107 

X.     DEPENDENT  ADULTS 127 

XL    FAMILY  DESERTION 135 

XII.     INTEMPERANCE 144 

XIII.  INDUSTRIAL  DISPLACEMENT 151 

XIV.  IMMIGRATION 162 

XV.    DISCRIMINATION  IN  RELIEF 171 

XVI.    RESTATEMENT  AND  CONCLUSION 177 

PART   II 
TYPICAL  RELIEF  PROBLEMS 

DIGEST  OF  SEVENTY-FIVE  ILLUSTRATIVE  CASES       .        .        .  185 

v 


059 


vi  CONTENTS 


PAET   III 
HISTORICAL    SURVEY 

CHAP.  PAGE 

I.     THE  REFORM  OF  THE  ENGLISH  POOR  LAW    .        .        .    269 

II.     PUBLIC  OUTDOOR  RELIEF  IN  AMERICA   ....    278 

III.     PRIVATE  OUTDOOR  RELIEF  IN  AMERICA         .        .        .     314 

PAET    IV 
BELIEF  IN  DISASTERS 

I.     THE  CHICAGO  FIRE 361 

II.     THE  JOHNSTOWN  FLOOD 382 

III.    FIRE  AND  FLOOD  IN  PATERSON 405 

(lV7\  INDUSTRIAL  DISTRESS  IN   NEW  YORK  AND  INDIANAP- 
OLIS, WINTER  OF  1893-1894 412 

V.     THE  BALTIMORE  FIRE 432 

VI.     THE  «SLOCUM"  DISASTER 445 

VII.    LESSONS  TO  BE  LEARNED  FROM  EMERGENCY  RELIEF  IN 

DISASTERS 457 

APPENDICES 

I.    DRAFT  OF  A  CONSTITUTION  FOR  A  CHARITY  ORGANI- 
ZATION SOCIETY 471 

II.    RULES  OF   THE   COMMITTEE   ON   CHARITABLE    TRANS- 
PORTATION        478 

INDEX  481 


PART   I 
PRINCIPLES 


CHAPTER  I 

SOCIAL  DEBTORS  —  THE  PROBLEM 

THE  industrial  and  social  progress  of  the  nineteenth 
century  has  led  to  an  enormous  increase  of  wealth  and  to 
a  higher  average  standard  of  both  efficiency  and  comfort. 
This  progress  has  not  at  all  points  proceeded  with  that 
equitable  distribution  which  would  accord  with  our  sense 
of  justice  and  the  problem  remains  of  dealing  with  such 
forms  of  social  injustice  and  remediable  hardship  as  have 
survived  or  have  arisen  as  an  incident  to  progress.  The 
relief  problem,  which  is  to  occupy  our  attention,  is  only  a 
part  —  although  a  clearly  defined  and  manageable  part  — 
of  this  undertaking.  The  normal  family  in  the  commu- 
nity is  self-supporting.  There  are  some  who,  because  of 
inefficiency  or  misfortune,  are  dependent  in  part  or  in 
whole  upon  others  ;  or  who,  if  not  relieved  by  others,  live 
at  a  standard  below  that  at  which  their  physical  vitality 
and  moral  character  can  be  maintained.  It  is  our  present 
task  to  consider  comprehensively  the  elementary  principles 
upon  which  the  community  should  afford  relief  to  those 
who  are  thus  dependent.  The  entire  range  of  public  and 
private  relief,  organized  and  unorganized,  institutional  and 
personal,  must  be  passed  in  review  —  leaving  necessarily 
many  by-paths  unexplored,  but  making  clear  at  least  the 
nature  of  the  general  relief  problem,  and  enabling  the 
student,  it  may  be,  to  understand  the  various  parts  of  our 
existing  relief  system,  and  those  upon  whom  rests  the 
responsibility  for  leadership  to  forecast  the  directions  in 
which  the  relief  policy  should  be  developed. 

The  very  existence  of  the  need  for  relief,  as  a  phenome- 
non of  general  social  interest,  is  often  overlooked,  and  is 
nearly  always  recognized  but  tardily.  There  are,  indeed, 
some  advantages  in  concealing  it,  or  at  least  in  discharg- 

3 


PRINCIPLES    OF   RELIEF 


ing  whatever  obligations  it  involves  in  as  private  and  per- 
sonal a  manner  as  possible.  So  long  as  all  the  charitable 
relief  required  can  be  supplied  by  relatives,  by  neighbors, 
or  by  those  who  act  from  a  direct  sense  of  religious  obli- 
gation or  other  similar  personal  motive,  the  community 
does  not  become  conscious  of  it  as  a  relief  problem.  How- 
ever desirable  it  might  be  to  continue  these  primitive 
conditions,  they  inevitably  disappear  with  the  growth  of 
towns  and  cities,  and  even  in  rural  communities  with  the 
widening  of  economic  and  social  relations.  Whenever  it 
becomes  the  rule  that  those  who  ask  for  aid  find  them- 
selves either  by  preference  or  by  force  of  circumstances 
turning  to  strangers  or  to  those  who  are  not  bound  to 
them  by  the  strongest  ties  of  family  or  religious  kinship, 
it  becomes  a  matter  of  concern  for  the  community  as  a 
whole,  and  not  merely  for  the  two  individuals  in  question. 
When  the  need  is  not  merely  to  relieve  the  hunger  of  an 
individual  who  is  without  food,  but  to  consider  whether 
the  individual  is  doing  what  he  can  to  earn  his  own  food, 
and  whether  he  has  an  opportunity  to  earn  it,  or  whether 
the  circumstances  which  have  incapacitated  him  from 
earning  it  may  be  so  modified  as  to  save  others  from 
reaching  the  same  state  —  the  matter  is  one  of  social 
concern. 

As  soon  as  the  need  of  preventing  disease  becomes  para- 
mount to  the  duty  of  nursing  an  individual  sick  person ; 
as  soon  as  the  possibility  is  recognized  that,  by  prevent- 
able sickness,  by  unsanitary  housing,  by  avoidable  acci- 
dents, by  premature  death,  by  industrial  distress,  or  by 
any  other  cause,  wholly  or  partly  social  in  character, 
families  may  become  dependent,  it  becomes  of  vital  social 
concern  to  examine  all  such  causes  of  dependence  and  to 
devise  such  systems  of  relief,  of  alleviation,  and  of  cure  as 
may  be  found  practicable  and  desirable. 

It  is  idle  to  deny  that  the  problem  of  relief  has  thus 
become  a  vital  social  problem  in  American  communities, 
as  it  has  long  been  in  older  countries.  This  is  by  no 
means  equivalent  to  saying  that  there  are  more  dependent 
families,  that  poverty  is  on  the  increase,  or  that  the  distri- 
bution of  wealth  in  general  is  less  equitable  than  in  earlier 
or  more  primitive  conditions.  It  is  rather  that  society  has 


CHAP,  i  NATURE   OF  THE   RELIEF  PROBLEM  6 

become  conscious  of  its  responsibility  for  the  relief  of  dis- 
tress, and  is  awakening  to  its  obligation  to  devise  effective 
and  remedial  systems  of  relief  for  such  dependents. 

The  class  of  social  debtors  is  not  recruited  from  any  one 
occupation,  or  from  any  one  economic  or  social  group. 
The  learned  professions,  the  mercantile  and  clerical  voca- 
tions, artisans  skilled  and  unskilled,  contribute  each  their 
fair  quota  of  those  who  for  a  longer  or  shorter  period  are 
dependent  upon  public  or  private  relief.  Religion,  race, 
nationality,  and  color  require  in  the  records  of  charitable 
societies  as  many  subdivisions  as  in  the  census.  By  no 
means  all  of  those  who  have  small  and  irregular  incomes 
become  dependent.  Meagre  or  irregular  income  is,  of 
course,  a  usual  precedent  condition  of  dependence,  but 
there  is  an  uncounted  multitude  whose  earnings  are  irreg- 
ular or  meagre  who,  nevertheless,  do  not  become  social 
debtors,  and  who  maintain  a  standard  of  living  which 
conserves  their  physical  vitality,  and  enables  their  chil- 
dren to  attain  a  better  position  than  that  which  they  have 
themselves  occupied. 

The  relief  problem  is  not  directly  concerned  with 
attempts  to  elevate  the  general  standard  of  living,  or  to 
influence  the  general  distribution  of  wealth.  It  deals  rather 
with  social  accidents  —  with  individual  families,  whatever 
their  previous  station,  who,  through  sickness,  death  of 
breadwinner,  or  exceptional  misfortune  of  some  kind,  lose 
their  position  and  are  either  temporarily  or  permanently 
unable  to  regain  it,  or  to  adjust  themselves  to  any  other 
position  of  normal  self-support.  The  aggregate  number 
of  those  who  are  thus  submerged  in  the  onward  movement 
of  commerce  and  industry  may  be  great,  but  it  affords  a 
relief  problem  only  in  those  communities  which  are  so  far 
advanced  in  civilization  as  to  recognize  'social  obligations 
and  in  which  there  are  at  least  some  resources  available 
for  relief. 

Whether  a  particular  family  is  dependent  is  to  be  judged 
not  by  an  absolute  standard,  but  with  reference  to  the  pre- 
vailing conditions.  Where  there  is  general  prosperity  and 
a  considerable  social  surplus,  it  is  possible  to  rind  families 
temporarily  dependent  and  fairly  entitled,  in  the  interests 
of  the  community,  to  a  helping  hand  from  their  fellows, 


PRINCIPLES   OF  BELIEF 


who,  under  harsher  conditions,  might  instead,  with  the 
same  earning  capacity,  be  looked  upon  as  fairly  successful 
and  as  contributors  to  the  common  welfare  rather  than  as 
social  debtors.  The  helping  hand  to  which  such  families 
are  entitled  under  the  more  prosperous  conditions  is  one 
that  will  enable  them  eventually  to  stand  alone,  not  one 
that  will  carry  them.  As  we  shall  see  later  this  involves 
skill  and  familiarity  with  the  principles  and  methods  of 
efficient  relief.  Dislike  of  organization  and  a  dread  of 
extending  it  to  the  delicate  and  intangible  task  of  charity, 
are  responsible  for  much  real  hardship  and  neglect. 
/  Granting  that  relief  partakes  of  a  social  as  well  as  of  a 
personal  character,  and  that  it  produces  a  definite  social 
effect,  there  are  some  who  think  that  that  effect  is  per- 
nicious, because  it  is  in  some  way  in  conflict  with  the 
beneficent  operation  of  the  law  of  evolution.  From  an 
evolutionary  point  of  view  the  pressure  of  population  on 
the  means  of  subsistence  is  supposed  to  prevent  the  sur- 
vival of  the  unfit,  and  therefore  to  be  a  good  thing  for 
society.  Instead  of  becoming  dependent,  those  who 
cannot  maintain  themselves  should,  in  this  view,  be 
allowed  to  perish.  There  should  be  no  interference 
with  the  natural  results  of  competition,  and  those  who 
are  submerged  should  not  receive  charity,  which  is  but 
the  robbery  of  the  prosperous  and  successful  of  a  portion 
of  their  subsistence.  This,  however,  is  an  unwarrant- 
able deduction  from  the  great  truths  which  constitute 
the  doctrine  of  evolution.  |  Charity  may  be  of  a  kind 
that  will  transform  the  unfit  into  such  as  are  fit  to  sur- 
vive, and  still  more  readily,  charity  —  or,  to  use  a  more 
appropriate  term,  an  enlightened  relief  policy  —  may  alter 
the  conditions  which  create  the  unfit.  It  is  doubtful  if 
modern  charity  often  increases  the  birth-rate  or  diminishes 
the  death-rate  of  the  criminal  or  the  pauper.  What  it  does 
is  to  give  to  the  children  of  the  dependent  and  the  anti- 
social classes  a  chance  to  pass  from  the  associations  and 
surroundings  of  their  parents  into  a  position  of  self- 
respect  and  self-support.  It  gives  to  those  who  are 
physically  disabled,  but  otherwise  valuable,  members  of 
the  community,  an  opportunity  to  regain  their  health  and 
strength,  or,  if  incurable,  to  live  with  less  of  suffering  and 


CHAP,  i  .       CHARITY   AND   EVOLUTION  7 

more  of  kindly  care.  By  segregating  the  epileptic  and  the 
feeble-minded,  and  preventing  them  from  producing  off- 
spring, it  may  even  hasten  the  elimination  of  the  unfit  — 
a  process  which  by  natural  selection  proceeds  but  slowly. 
It  provides  for  the  aged  and  infirm,  for  the  insane  and 
those  who  are  otherwise  afflicted,  a  more  suitable  main- 
tenance, but  under  conditions,  with  some  exceptions  which 
should  be  remedied,  that  do  not  impede  progress. 

If  there  is  an  active  policy  directed  to  that  end,  the 
pressure  of  population  may  accomplish  the  beneficent 
results  which  scientists  have  claimed  for  it  without  impos- 
ing extraordinary  hardship  upon  individuals.  What  is 
demanded  to  insure  this  result  is  that  individuals,  and 
sometimes  a  considerable  number  of  persons,  shall  be 
entirely  removed  from  the  ordinary  economic  and  social 
competition  and  supported  in  one  form  or  another  from 
the  surplus  of  human  society.  The  burden  in  this  way 
becomes  a  definite  one  of  which  the  community  is  con- 
scious, and  the  extent  of  which  can  be  clearly  ascertained. 
It  is  of  comparatively  little  importance  from  our  present 
point  of  view  whether  the  surplus  is  drawn  upon  by  taxa- 
tion or  through  the  channel  of  charitable  donations.  While 
it  is  conceivable  that  the  burden  might  be  so  great  that  it 
would  become  a  serious  drain  upon  productive  industry  or 
upon  normal  consumption,  there  are  no  indications  that 
this  would  happen  at  the  present  time  in  American 
communities. 

The  main  purpose  of  the  present  volume  is  to  aid  the 
citizen  who  is  conscious  of  a  sense  of  obligation  for  the 
relief  of  poverty,  and  more  especially  those  who  look  for- 
ward to  active  volunteer  or  professional  service  in  any 
branch  of  social  work,  to  recognize  the  character  and 
extent  of  such  service,  to  become  familiar  with  its  guiding 
principles,  and  to  apply  those  principles  to  such  practical 
tasks  as  they  may  encounter.  With  these  objects  in  view, 
after  a  discussion  of  relief  as  an  incident  of  progress  and 
as  a  social  policy,  and  a  concrete  description  of  the  stand- 
ard of  living  as  a  basis  from  which  to  estimate  what  relief 
is  required,  two  illustrations  are  presented  of  the  modern 
conception  of  preventive  and  effective  relief,  in  the  elimi- 
nation of  disease  through  the  cooperation  of  the  medical 


8  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  i 

profession  with  social  workers  and  others,  and  the  move- 
ment for  tenement-house  reform.  The  relief  of  the  poor 
in  their  homes,  the  breaking  up  of  families,  and  the  care  of 
dependent  children  and  of  dependent  adults  outside  their 
own  homes,  lead  naturally  to  a  consideration  of  four  of  the 
more  important  causes  of  need":  family  desertion,  intem- 
perance, industrial  displacement,  and  immigration.  The 
relief  of  the  poor  in  their  homes  is  the  natural  starting 
point  of  all  charitable  activities,  and  an  account  of  the 
sources  of  such  relief  is  supplemented  by  the  consideration 
in  a  separate  chapter  of  the  manner  in  which  relief  is 
modified  by  the  constitution  of  the  family.  For  example, 
a  family  of  orphans,  or  a  widow  with  small  children,  pre- 
sents very  different  problems  from  those  of  single  unen- 
cumbered adults  or  of  married  couples  without  children. 
In  the  chapter  on  the  breaking-up  of  families  certain  prin- 
ciples are  enumerated,  the  neglect  of  which  is  responsible 
for  some  of  the  serious  aspects  of  the  problems  of  depend- 
ent children  and  dependent  adults. 

Supplementing  the  statement  and  application  of  princi- 
ples in  Part  I,  there  is  given  in  Part  II  a  digest  of  seventy- 
five  illustrative  cases.  The  end  in  view  in  presenting  these 
summaries  of  actual  case  records  is  similar  to  that  which 
leads  to  the  preparation  of  digests  of  judicial  decisions  for 
the  use  of  members  of  the  bar  and  law  students.  There 
is  no  desire  to  demonstrate  the  success  of  any  particular 
method  of  treatment,  or  to  reflect  credit  upon  any  particu- 
lar charitable  agency,  but  rather  to  show  in  the  most  help- 
ful and  direct  way  what  is  the  real  nature  of  the  problems 
with  which  charitable  societies  and  citizens  have  to  deal. 
In  some  instances  an  account  is  given  of  the  relief  afforded 
and  the  results  which  followed ;  in  others  little  more  than 
a  statement  of  the  situation  as  it  was  presented  at  the  time 
of  application.  But  these  very  contrasts  are  typical. 
There  are  circumstances  in  which  initial  steps  must  be 
taken  on  superficial  indications,  while  in  others  there  is 
opportunity  at  the  outset  for  thorough  inquiry  and  de- 
liberation. 

The  reader  who  examines  all  of  these  records  at  one 
time  may  find  them  on  the  whole  discouraging  rather 
than  otherwise.  Selected  almost  at  random  and  not 


CHAP,  i  GOOD   QUALITIES   OF  THE   POOR  9 

edited  with  a  view  to  enlisting  sympathy  in  behalf  of  the 
families,  they  will  at  least  convince  the  student  that  for 
the  relief  of  destitution  something  more  is  required  than 
money,  groceries,  clothing,  or  fuel.  It  will  become  clear 
that  these  are  not  relief  but  only  the  instruments  through 
which  relief  may  be  effected. 

That  there  are  those  who  are  unattractive,  unapprecia- 
tive  of  kindness,  and  ungrateful  for  charity  is  only  too 
apparent  from  the  records,  as  it  is  only  too  obvious  to  any 
who  come  into  first-hand  contact  with  the  poor.  Yet  these 
also  may  need  help  and  in  the  long  run  may  well  repay 
effort  put  forth  in  their  behalf.  If,  however,  in  the 
interests  of  accuracy  and  due  proportion  it  had  seemed 
advisable  to  modify  the  case  records  in  any  particular,  I 
would  have  desired  to  do  this  only  in  making  them  bear 
more  frequent  and  emphatic  testimony  to  the  good  quali- 
ties of  the  poor,  —  to  their  fortitude,  their  faithfulness,  to 
their  heroism  and  their  charity.  It  is  because  of  the  re- 
ality of  these  qualities  that  we  are  justified  in  maintaining 
a  hopeful  attitude  towards  our  relief  problem. 


CHAPTER  II 

THE  ESSENTIALS   OF   A  BELIEF  POLICY 

IT  should  be  possible  to  formulate  the  general  principles 
upon  which  charitable  relief  is  to  be  given  to  dependent 
families,  whether  the  source  of  such  relief  is  the  church,  a 
relief  society,  the  public  treasury,  or  a  private  individual ; 
whether  such  relief  is  temporary  or  long  continued ;  and 
whatever  the  particular  form  of  relief  may  be,  i.e.  whether 
money,  food,  fuel,  clothing,  tools,  or  some  such  special 
relief  as  medical  treatment,  legal  advice,  assistance  in 
finding  employment  or  transportation  to  another  locality. 
The  relief  of  distress  is  a  much  neglected  field  of  research 
and  discussion.  There  are  innumerable  leaflets  and  even 
books  of  respectable  dimensions  detailing  for  memorial  or 
for  practical  purposes  the  work  of  particular  charitable 
agencies  and  of  individuals  who  have  labored  for  their 
fellow-men.  There  are  works  of  reference  dealing  with 
the  administrative  history  of  poor-relief  systems,  with 
laws  of  settlement,  and  with  the  financial  aspects  of  public 
relief.  The  charity  organization  movement  has  called 
forth  an  extensive  literature  which  treats  of  many  aspects 
of  the  relief  problem,  but  from  a  critical  rather  than  from 
a  constructive  standpoint ;  and  in  so  far  as  it  is  construc- 
tive, it  deals  mainly  with  cooperation  among  charitable 
agencies,  rather  than  with  the  principles  applying  to  the 
relief  of  individual  cases  of  distress. 

Within  the  past  few  years  a  noticeable  change  has 
taken  place  in  the  conferences  of  charities,  in  the  dis- 
cussions among  social  workers,  in  the  special  periodicals 
devoted  to  social  problems,  and  in  the  more  general  daily 
and  periodical  press.  A  new  unity  has  been  discovered 
underlying  various  charitable  activities  which  centre  in 
the  homes  of  the  poor.  It  has  become  apparent  that 

10 


CHAP,  ii  THE   NEW   CONCEPTION   OF  CHARITY  11 

relief  societies,  charity  organization  societies,  religious, 
educational,  and  social  agencies,  and  public  departments 
charged  with  the  care  of  dependents,  form  practically  a 
single  group  with  many  common  interests,  methods,  diffi- 
culties, and  dangers.  It  is  found  that  for  all  alike  the  task 
of  creating  a  normal,  well-balanced  family  life  is  important. 
All  are  equally  interested  in  determining  the  extent  to 
which  charitable  relief  should  be  drawn  upon  to  supple- 
ment the  income  already  earned,  or  to  supply  the  neces- 
sities of  life  when  the  income  has  been  entirely  cut  off. 
While  each  smaller  group  will  naturally  have  its  own 
peculiar  problems,  the  number  of  questions  that  are  of 
common  interest  to  all  agencies  which  for  any  reason 
contribute  to  the  care  and  relief  of  needy  families  and 
dependent  persons  has  become  sufficiently  great,  and  their 
importance  sufficiently  clear,  to  justify  more  adequate 
treatment  than  they  have  yet  received. 

Preceding  and  accompanying  this  new  recognition  of 
the  larger  boundaries  of  social  work,  there  may  be  dis- 
covered a  related  series  of  changes  in  the  conception  of 
charity  and  of  social  obligations.  At  the  same  time  that 
those  who  are  engaged  in  divers  branches  of  social  effort 
discover  the  essential  unity  of  their  task,  they  become  con- 
scious that  the  task  is  not  so  simple  as  they  supposed,  and 
that  its  magnitude  has  not  been  at  all  appreciated. 

Primitive  man,  in  destroying  the  lives  of  those  who  have 
become  dependent  from  sickness  or  old  age,  and  in  expos- 
ing superfluous  infants,  acts  intelligibly,  if  not  in  accord- 
ance with  the  familiar  and  humane  instincts  of  civilized 
man.  With  the  growth  of  sympathy  and  of  the  sense  of 
family,  community,  and  racial  responsibility,  the  duty  of 
man  toward  his  dependent  fellow-creatures  is  less  easily 
denned.  A  larger  number  of  individuals  are  moved  to 
acts  of  pity,  kindness,  and  benevolence  ;  the  conception  of 
charity  as  a  universal  obligation  springs  up  and  receives 
a  religious  sanction  ;  the  church  inculcates  the  duty  of 
giving ;  the  state  assumes  the  burden  of  relief  of  certain 
kinds  and  degrees  of  distress  ;  voluntary  associations  are 
formed  under  the  charitable  impulse  ;  and  individuals  feel 
a  distinct  pleasure  in  ministering  to  the  unfortunate.  In 
this  middle  stage  of  development,  tradition  and  custom 


12  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

are  the  most  important  factors  in  determining  the  direc- 
tion of  charitable  effort.  The  idea  that  personal  reward, 
either  in  the  present  or  in  a  future  life,  will  follow  acts 
of  charity,  is  dominant.  Social  standing  and  public  ac- 
claim await  those  who  perform  conspicuous  acts  of  benevo- 
lence. With  the  development  of  social  classes  based  on 
heredity,  on  differences  of  income,  and  on  differences  of 
employment  and  vocation,  there  arises  a  class  feeling  which 
modifies  the  charitable  instincts  of  each  class,  and  pre- 
scribes the  relations  of  a  charitable  character  among  such 
classes. 

These  may  be  looked  upon  as  intermediate  stages  in  the 
development  of  the  general  problem  of  relief,  and  they  are 
naturally  stages  of  perplexity  and  incomplete  adjustment. 
The  idea  of  charity,  attractive  and  inspiring  at  one  stage 
of  social  development,  becomes  in  time  obnoxious,  and  as 
a  permanent  element  in  the  relation  between  classes,  it 
becomes  an  anomaly.  Religion  no  longer  lends  its  sanc- 
tion to  all  acts  prompted  by  the  charitable  impulse. 
Larger  tasks  are  now  suggested  for  the  state,  bearing  some 
resemblance  to  the  modest  measures  for  the  relief  of  dis- 
tress formerly  undertaken,  but  differing  in  so  many  ways 
and  resting  upon  such  new  premises,  that  they  alienate, 
rather  than  attract,  those  who  have  been  most  completely 
identified  with  the  traditional  distribution  of  relief. 
Charitable  people,  as  John  Stuart  Mill  pointed  out  over 
half  a  century  ago,  "have  human  infirmities,  and  would 
very  often  be  secretly  not  a  little  dissatisfied  if  no  one 
needed  their  charity  ;  it  is  from  them  one  oftenest  hears 
the  base  doctrine,  that  God  has  decreed  there  shall  always 
be  poor." 

The  inquiry  arises  as  to  whether  relief  cannot  take  a 
larger  and  more  useful  place  in  the  life  of  the  community, 
whether  it  cannot  be  made  the  means  by  which  society 
will  distribute  with  a  nearer  approach  to  equity  the 
burdens  which  fall  upon  individuals  through  social  and 
industrial  changes,  from  which  the  community  as  a  whole 
derives  great  advantage  ;  whether,  moreover,  relief  meas- 
ures cannot  be  devised  of  sufficient  magnitude  and  effi- 
ciency to  enable  society  to  eradicate  completely  great 
evils  with  which  it  has  heretofore  temporized  ;  whether 


CHAP,  ii  RELIEF  AS  A  SOCIAL  POLICY  13 

particular  social  problems,  such  as  those  arising  from  im- 
migration, congested  population,  war,  public  disaster,  and 
even  industrial  displacement,  cannot  be  dealt  with  com- 
prehensively and  intelligently  with  a  view  to  the  total 
elimination  of  the  bad  conditions. 

Business,  domestic  life,  religion,  and  education  has 
each  its  recognized  and  definite  place  in  the  social 
economy.  Education,  for  example,  is  recognized  as  the 
means  through  which  society  passes  on  from  one  genera- 
tion to  another  the  accumulated  results  of  civilization ; 
the  means  by  which  the  workers  of  each  generation  are 
trained,  at  least  up  to  the  point  of  efficiency  of  their  im- 
mediate ancestors,  and  their  capacity  for  further  progress, 
if  possible,  increased.  Relief  may  eventually  come  to  be 
recognized  as  equally  entitled  to  serious  consideration,  and 
to  a  definite  place  in  our  permanent  social  arrangements. 

The  relief  policy  of  the  community  might  then  be 
defined  in  terms  as  definite  as  those  by  which  we  describe 
the  educational  processes.  By  wisely  formulated  relief 
measures,  society  would  transfer  to  the  community  as  a 
whole,  certain  of  the  burdens  naturally  imposed  upon  in- 
dividuals by  industrial  progress.  The  community  would 
no  longer  permit  its  weakest  members  to  suffer  vicariously 
that  others  might  gain.  Industrial  changes  from  which 
the  community  as  a  whole  profits  eventually,  displace 
skilled  labor  that  has  been  a  source  of  adequate  income  to 
the  worker  and  his  family,  but  under  the  new  conditions 
is  so  no  longer.  A  sound  relief  policy  would  seek  out 
from  among  the  families  that  become  dependent  as  a  result 
of  such  changes  those  who  suffer  most  severely,  and  put 
them  as  nearly  as  possible  in  a  position  as  eligible  as  that 
from  which  they  were  displaced. 

Diseases  due  to  unsanitary  conditions,  or  to  social  causes 
beyond  the  reach  of  the  individual,  will  be  more  effectively 
guarded  against,  and  when  they  cannot  be  prevented,  the 
expense  and  loss  of  income  will  be  borne  by  relief  agencies, 
public  or  private  ;  and  the  aim  of  all  such  agencies  will  be 
the  speedy  restoration  of  the  individual  to  a  position  of 
complete  support.  Diseases  which  are  distinctly  social  in 
character,  i.e.  communicable,  curable,  and  preventable, 
will  be  attacked  with  increased  vigor  and  confidence. 


14  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PARTI 

Scientific  discoveries  are  often,  perhaps  usually,  essential 
preliminaries  to  the  adoption  of  adequate  relief  measures. 
For  example,  the  discovery  of  the  method  by  which  yellow 
fever  is  propagated,  enabled  the  Military  Government  in 
Cuba,  in  1901,  to  adopt  remedial  measures,  as  a  result  of 
which  the  island  was  freed  from  the  scourge  of  yellow  fever 
in  an  incredibly  short  time,  although  for  two  hundred  years 
it  had  never  been  entirely  absent.  The  development  of 
aseptic  surgery  has  prevented  the  greater  part  of  the 
loss  of  life  formerly  resulting  from  gunshot  wounds 
and  accidents  of  various  kinds.  Increased  knowledge 
concerning  the  communicability  and  curability  of  tuber- 
culosis will  similarly,  assuming  sensible  and  adequate 
relief  policies,  reduce  the  death-rate  from  this  most 
dreaded  disease. 

Although  scientific  knowledge  is  a  preliminary,  it  is  not 
a  substitute  for  relief.  In  many  instances,  as  in  the  case 
of  tuberculosis  at  present,  there  is  a  wide  gap  between  the 
existing  state  of  scientific  knowledge  and  the  practical 
results  in  social  welfare.  This  gap  may  not  infrequently 
be  bridged  by  judicious  relief  measures,  and  often  it  is 
impossible  to  bridge  it  by  any  other  means.  Instead  of 
a  mere  dole  given  by  the  casual  stranger  whose  easily 
excitable  sympathies  are  moved  by  the  sight  of  physical 
suffering,  and  who  hopes  for  increased  public  esteem  and 
for  religious  reward  as  a  result  of  his  action,  relief  has  be- 
come a  large  social  policy,  resting,  as  in  the  beginning,  upon 
benevolence  in  its  true  sense,  a  desire  for  the  good  of 
others  ;  and  upon  philanthropy,  a  regard  for  fellow-man  : 
but  taking  the  form  of  genuine  beneficence  which  is  the 
accomplishing  of  good,  as  distinct  from  well-wishing  ;  and 
upon  a  democratic  and  social  sentiment,  which  is  the  best 
of  all  forms  of  philanthropy. 

In  a  progressive  society  industrial  changes  are  likely 
to  be  made  with  great  rapidity,  and  the  number  of  per- 
sons who  find  themselves  stranded  because  there  is  no 
longer  a  market  demand  for  the  particular  skill  which 
they  possess  is  therefore  likely  to  be  larger  than  in  a 
stable  community,  where  changes  are  infrequent.1  The 

1  Such  a  family  was  that  of  the  Italian,  Attila  Rossi,  described  on 
page  218,  an  architectural  draughtsman,  who,  in  spite  of  his  handicap  in 


CHAP,  ii          RELIEF  AN  INCIDENT  OF  PROGRESS  15 

mental  and  physical  strain  upon  the  individual  members 
of  a  complex  and  progressive  community  is  also  likely  to 
be  greater  than  under  primitive  conditions.  As  a  conse- 
quence, health  will  frequently  be  endangered  and  the 
physical  constitution  undermined.  Excessive  demands 
may  be  made  upon  individuals,  such  as  could  safely  be 
borne  after  a  period  of  complete  adjustment,  but  in  the 
interval  much  hardship  may  be  entailed  upon  those  whose 
capacities  and  acquirements  are  least  quickly  modified  to 
meet  the  new  conditions.  Rapid  industrial  and  social 
changes  are  likely  to  be  accompanied  by  a  shifting  of 
population,  reducing  the  strength  of  family  ties,  and  in- 
creasing the  extent  to  which  the  individual  members  of  a 
community,  when  they  become  dependent,  must  rely  upon 
the  community  as  a  whole,  rather  than  upon  their  imme- 
diate relatives,  for  relief. 

For  all  these  reasons  and  others  of  a  similar  character 
that  will  suggest  themselves,  the  place  of  relief  in  a  pro- 
gressive society  is  naturally  a  large  and  permanent  one, 
even  aside  from  all  of  the  causes  upon  which  emphasis  has 
ordinarily  been  placed,  such  as  the  congestion  of  popula- 
tion in  cities  and  the  injuries  to  wage-earners  resulting 
from  industrial  crises. 

Such  recognition  of  the  place  of  relief  is  not  pessi- 
mistic, as  might  at  first  sight  appear.  On  the  contrary,  it 
implies  a  confidence  in  the  efficacy  of  relief.  It  implies 
that  the  beneficiaries  of  such  a  system  of  relief  as  would 
be  inaugurated  are  constantly  and  ever  rapidly  changing  ; 
that  there  is  no  such  thing  as  a  permanent  class  of  depend- 
ents, but  rather  a  succession  of  individuals  or  groups,  who 
on  a  laissez-faire  or  a  half-hearted  policy  would  become  de- 
pendents, but  on  a  policy  of  thorough  relief  are  caught  up  once 
for  all  into  a  position  of  self-support  and  entire  self-respect; 
into  a  position  of  public  usefulness  and  public  esteem.1 

The  recognition  of  the  need  of  a  consistent  relief  policy 

not  speaking  English,  had  been  employed  for  over  a  year,  and  lost  his 
position  only  by  the  closing  out  of  the  architectural  branch  of  an  impor- 
tant building  firm. 

1  For  a  fuller  discussion  of  the  meaning  of  relief,  and  of  such  other 
terms  as  prevention,  reconstruction,  and  elimination,  the  reader  may  con- 
sult the  chapter  entitled  "  Some  Elementary  Definitions,"  in  the  author's 
"  Practice  of  Charity,"  2d  edition. 


16  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

and  the  adoption  of  public  measures  in  accordance  there- 
with, brings  the  only  possible  reconciliation  between 
democracy  and  charity.  It  solves  the  riddle  of  the  rela- 
tion between  charity  and  justice ;  it  gives  firm  ground  for 
those  who  are  unwilling  to  pass  by  human  misery  without 
an  attempt  to  alleviate  it,  and  who  at  the  same  time  believe 
in  human  progress,  and  refuse  to  place  themselves  in  an- 
tagonism to  the  forces  of  civilization.  As  soon  as  relief 
becomes  adequate  in  amount  from  the  social  point  of 
view,  the  act  of  giving  and  receiving  ceases  to  be  one  in- 
volving shame  to  either  donor  or  beneficiary,  assuming  that 
fraud  is  eliminated,  and  that  the  treatment  accompanying 
the  relief  is  intelligent  arid  sympathetic.  A  sound  relief 
policy  demands,  however  difficult  the  task,  a  clear  demar- 
cation between  those  who  are  and  those  who  are  not  to 
receive  relief.  Many  crude  and  unsuccessful  attempts  to 
find  such  a  line  have  been  made.  The  naive  exclusion  of 
Italian  immigrant  families  from  the  bounty  of  one  lady 
who  had  decided  that  they  were  "  unworthy,"  because  it 
occurred  to  her  that  they  were  taking  employment  which 
belonged  to  native  American  citizens,  is,  after  all,  a  typical 
illustration  of  the  manner  in  which  this  line  is  frequently 
drawn.  One  person  of  catholic  views  will  consider  only 
whether  there  is  actual  present  destitution ;  another  will 
add  a  test  of  residence,  such  as  is  common  in  poor-law 
relief  statutes  ;  a  third  will  limit  his  charity  to  "  worthy  " 
applicants,  i.e.  those  whose  past  lives  meet  with  his 
approval ;  and  a  fourth  will  make  as  a  condition  of  assist- 
ance some  promise  in  regard  to  the  future.  Besides 
these  avowed  conditions,  there  are  others  less  freely 
admitted,  and  even  less  consciously  recognized  by  the 
benefactor.  When  a  euchre  club,  a  majority  of  whose 
members  happened  to  be  Presbyterians,  relinquished  a  plan 
for  devoting  the  surplus  funds  on  hand  at  the  end  of  a 
season  to  a  public  playground  in  a  crowded  district  on 
learning  that  the  playground  was  frequented  chiefly  by 
Roman  Catholic  children,  it  afforded  an  instance  of  the 
manner  in  which  the  instinctive  consciousness  of  kind 
sometimes  operates  in  determining  the  direction  of  chari- 
table gifts.  Those  who  are  especially  impressed  by  the 
far-reaching  consequences  of  intemperance,  may  consider 


CHAP,  ii  THE   NEED   OF   A  CLEAR  PRINCIPLE  17 

it  wrong  to  give  to  any  person  who  uses,  or  has  habitually 
indulged  in,  alcoholic  beverages.  Another  will  under  no 
circumstances  aid  able-bodied  men,  while  others  draw  the 
line  in  such  a  way  as  to  discriminate  against  deserted 
families,  or  old  persons  who  are  supposed  to  be  suitable 
candidates  for  the  almshouse,  or  chronic  invalids,  or  those 
who  are  afflicted  by  contagious  disease.  Sometimes  the 
basis  of  discrimination  appears  to  be  nothing  more  than  a 
personal  prejudice,  or  an  arbitrary  and  unaccountable 
choice  of  beneficiaries.  Usually,  however,  it  is  a  more  or 
less  conscious  recognition  of  a  personal  or  group  obligation 
toward  a  particular  class.  To  some  extent  such  selections 
and  exclusions  neutralize  or  supplement  each  other,  a  par- 
ticular charitable  resource  arising  in  the  community  for 
each  class  of  dependents,  and  nearly  every  one  who  is  in 
need  finding  himself  a  qualified  candidate  for  the  benefits 
of  one  or  more  individuals  or  groups. 

The  question  arises  whether  from  this  maze  of  special 
resources  for  relief  and  cross  currents  of  desire  to  aid,  from 
the  apparently  hopeless  tangle  of  real  needs  and  of  fraudu- 
lent claims  on  the  one  hand,  and  on  the  other  of  arbitrary 
whims,  carelessly  accepted  traditions,  and  deliberate  adop- 
tion of  one  or  another  set  of  tests,  there  can  be  detached 
any  clear  principle  of  general  application. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  there  are  grave  disadvantages  in 
the  existing  state  of  confusion.  The  poor  who  are  in  need 
of  relief,  or  who  think  that  they  are,  should  not  be  set  the 
problem  of  analyzing  the  psychological  eccentricities  of 
possible  donors.  They  should  not  be  subjected  to  the 
hardship  of  finding  themselves  in  an  excluded  class  for 
reasons  which  have  nothing  to  do  with  generally  accepted 
standards  of  conduct ;  and  it  may  be  almost  equally  danger- 
ous for  the  applicant  for  assistance  suddenly  to  find  him- 
self richly  rewarded  for  the  unsuspected  possession  of  some 
qualification  which  has  no  importance  for  himself,  but 
which,  for  personal  reasons,  commends  him  to  the  one 
whose  aid  he  has  sought.  If  to  any  extent  this  state  of 
affairs  can  be  remedied,  the  result  will  be  conducive  to 
morality  and  a  more  equitable  distribution  of  charitable 
gifts.  The  existence  in  a  community  of  a  general  bureau 
of  information  to  direct  applicants  to  this  or  that  agency 


18  PRINCIPLES   OF   BELIEF  PARTI 

mitigates,  but  does  not  radically  cure,  the  evil.  Such  a 
bureau  may  save  time  to  both  donors  and  applicants,  but 
it  does  not  really  coordinate  the  various  parts  of  what 
should  be  a  charitable  system,  or  justify  the  actions  of 
the  well-to-do  in  the  eyes  of  the  unfortunate.  To  ac- 
complish these  desirable  results,  it  is  essential  that  some 
definite  understanding  should  be  reached  ;  and  if  it  is 
impracticable  to  propose  one  that  would  be  entirely  ac- 
ceptable to  all  concerned,  it  may  at  least  be  possible  to 
establish  certain  elementary  principles  and  to  eliminate 
some  of  the  causes  of  confusion.  Even  if  the  one  who  is  in 
need  of  assistance  knows  or  can  readily  learn  under  what 
conditions  it  may  be  obtained,  and  if  an  agreement  can  be 
reached  among  the  multitudinous  agencies  and  the  large 
number  of  individuals  who  respond  to  appeals  for  assist- 
ance, it  may  still  be  that  many  would  be  discontented 
with  the  result,  but  it  would  then  be  possible  to  test  the 
results  of  the  policies  agreed  upon,  and  applicants  for  relief 
would  at  least  know  upon  what  to  rely. 

It  may  be  objected  that  this  in  itself  is  precisely  the 
principal  evil  to  be  avoided;  that  relief  funds  are  danger- 
ous to  the  exact  extent  to  which  people  are  taught  to  rely 
upon  them.  This  objection  disappears  if  it  is  found  pos- 
sible to  restrict  relief  to  those  who  ought  to  rely  upon  it. 
If  fraud  and  misrepresentation  can  be  eliminated,  it  ought 
to  be  practicable  to  exclude  those  who  should  not  receive 
assistance.  Provision  would  be  made  for  those  in  whose 
income  there  is  necessarily  a  permanent  deficiency,  and 
for  those  who,  by  assistance  for  a  limited  period,  can  be 
brought  from  dependence  to  normal  self-support.  Inas- 
much as  the  existence  of  relief  funds  cannot  well  be  en- 
tirely concealed,  or  the  existence  of  charitable  individuals 
truthfully  denied,  there  would  seem  to  be  little  advantage 
in  continuing  a  sense  of  uncertainty  for  the  doubtful 
result  of  preventing  possible  dependents  from  taking  such 
a  course  as  will  lead  to  dependence  upon  them.  Uncer- 
tainty cultivates  the  speculative  and  gambling  spirit,  and 
nothing  more  surely  leads  to  dependence  than  the  intro- 
duction of  the  gambling  element  into  the  plans  of  one  who 
is  already  near  the  margin  of  dependence.  To  know 
that,  if  certain  reasonable  conditions  are  complied  with, 


CHAP,  ii  THE   PRINCIPLE   STATED  19 

relief  will  be  provided  in  case  some  misfortune  should 
render  it  necessary,  may  well  be  of  incalculable  assist- 
ance in  exorcising  this  very  speculative  spirit.  The  re- 
lief policy  should  not  be  of  a  kind  that  will  cause  the 
general  course  of  life  to  be  shaped  with  reference  to  it ; 
but  if  it  is  of  such  a  kind  as  to  cause  a  feeling  of  secur- 
ity that  disasters  of  an  unpreventable  kind  will  call  forth 
sympathy  and  practical  assistance,  a  stimulus  will  result 
to  rational  living. 

The  principle  for  which  we  are  seeking  is  to  be  found  in 
the  formulation  and  general  acceptance  of  the  idea  of  a 
normal  standard  of  living,  and  the  rigid  adoption  of 
either  disciplinary  or  charitable  measures,  as  may  be 
found  appropriate  and  necessary  for  those  families  and 
individuals  whose  income  and  expenditure  do  not  conform 
to  such  standard.  An  approach  to  the  adoption  of  such  a 
principle  has  already  been  made  from  various  directions. 
The  general  acceptance  of  the  obligation  in  the  last  ex- 
tremity to  support  life,  to  make  provision  for  orphan 
children,  to  care  for  the  sick  and  disabled,  and  to  provide 
burial,  is,  in  effect,  the  primitive  form  in  which  the  prin- 
ciple of  the  standard  of  living  is  accepted.  The  sanitary 
code,  nominally  in  the  interest  of  the  community,  but 
really,  if  the  motives  supporting  it  are  fully  analyzed, 
quite  as  much  from  an  altruistic  concern  for  those  to 
whom  it  is  applied,  imposes  conditions  much  beyond  this 
elementary  requirement.  In  the  larger  cities,  where  the 
prevailing  standard  would  otherwise  be  lowest,  it  is  often 
in  fact  kept  very  high  by  positive  enactment.  Overcrowd- 
ing in  living  and  sleeping  rooms  is  prevented,  a  normal 
supply  of  light  and  air  is  secured,  suitable  precautions 
against  fire  and  other  dangers  to  life  and  property  are 
prescribed ;  a  definite  standard  of  cleanliness  and  decency 
is  deliberately  established ;  measures  are  taken  to  prevent 
moral  contamination  of  those  who  would  be  most  exposed 
to  it,  and  who,  if  left  to  themselves,  would  be  helpless 
against  it.  To  these  might  be  added  the  voluntarily  ac- 
cepted obligation  to  give  a  good  elementary  education  to 
all  children,  and  the  policy  not  infrequently  extended  to 
adults  through  a  system  of  night  schools  and  popular  lec- 
tures, and  carried  into  the  realm  of  higher  education  through 


20  PRINCIPLES  OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

state  universities,  grants  to  higher  and  technical  educations 
from  the  public  treasury,  and  in  other  ways. 

The  two  instances  that  have  been  cited  of  the  accept- 
ance by  the  public  of  a  normal  standard  of  living  happen 
both  to  imply  corresponding  action  on  the  part  of  the 
state  or  its  political  subdivisions.  In  the  first  instance 
cited  the  state  acts  through  its  system  of  public  charities ; 
in  the  second,  through  its  health  board  or  other  sanitary 
or  police  authorities. 

There  are  other  equally  striking  instances  in  which  the 
principle  is  enforced  through  wholly  voluntary  agencies. 
The  agreement  common  in  trade  unions  not  to  work  for 
less  than  a  prevailing  rate  of  wages,  the  agreement  to  pur- 
chase only  in  stores  in  which  satisfactory  conditions  pre- 
vail, and  to  purchase  goods  made  under  reasonable 
conditions,  are  illustrations.  In  these  instances  the 
primary  object  is  generally  supposed  to  be  merely  eco- 
nomic gain.  The  concerted  action  is  taken  in  part  to 
secure  an  advantage  over  other  competitors  in  the  distri- 
bution of  the  total  income  of  industry.  Very  soon,  how- 
ever, when  there  are  strikes  or  industrial  disputes  of  other 
forms,  an  appeal  is  made  to  the  sentiment  of  the  community 
to  sustain  a  standard  of  living,  and  statements  are  made, 
designed  to  show  that  under  the  prevailing  conditions  the 
income  will  no  longer  maintain  the  old  level.  Within 
the  labor  organizations  the  establishment  and  maintenance 
of  a  reasonable  standard  of  living  acquires  constantly 
increasing  prominence  and  increasing  vital  significance.  It 
is  more  clearly  recognized  that  the  standard  of  living  is 
not  merely  a  collective  name  for  the  commodities  enjoyed 
at  a  given  time,  but  that,  if  it  is  to  have  real  meaning,  the 
elements  which  enter  into  the  standard  must  be  of  real 
importance  to  those  who  enjoy  them,  and  that  they  must 
be  prepared  to  make  real  sacrifices,  and  to  struggle,  if  need 
be,  for  their  continued  enjoyment.  The  method  of  enforc- 
ing these  considerations  upon  those  who  do  not  appre- 
ciate them  may  be  brutal,  and,  on  the  surface,  uncharitable. 
Scorn  and  abuse  may  be  the'  weapons  adopted  rather  than 
patient  and  considerate  attempt  to  enable  those  who  fall 
below  the  standard  to  attain  it.  Gradually,  however, 
the  milder  methods  of  education  and  persuasion,  and, 


CHAP,  ii  RELIEF  NOT   SUPPORT  21 

when  practicable,  material  assistance,  may  be  expected  to 
take  the  place  of  the  cruder  and  more  cruel  weapons. 
For  our  present  purpose,  the  significant  fact  is,  that  prac- 
tically the  entire  body  of  organized  labor  recognizes  the 
necessity  of  a  standard  of  living,  both  in  its  material  and 
in  its  psychological  aspect,  and  may  be  counted  upon  to 
support  a  relief  policy  which  rests  upon  the  fundamental 
proposition  that  the  community  should  not  be  indifferent 
to  the  distinction  between  those  who  have  a  normal  stand- 
ard and  those  who  have  not. 

The  first  deduction  from  this  principle  to  which  atten- 
tion may  be  called  is  that  it  is  neither  advisable  nor 
necessary  to  provide  relief  for  those  whose  standards 
are  normal.  To  recognize  a  right  to  support  as  distinct 
from  a  right  to  be  placed  in  a  position  in  which  self-support 
is  possible,  would  be  fatal  to  the  continuance  of  those 
economic  motives  upon  which  our  entire  industrial  system 
rests.  Where  there  is  in  the  family  one  or  more  able- 
bodied,  adult  bread-winners,  so  that  the  natural  and 
normal  income  of  the  family  is  sufficient  to  maintain  the 
standard  of  living,  charitable  relief  should  invariably  be 
refused.1  An  elementary  consideration  is  that  no  one 
should  be  given  a  choice  between  support  of  himself  and 
family  by  his  own  efforts  and  support  from  unearned  and 
charitable  sources.  Practically,  it  is  true,  the  question 
never  arises  except  with  complications  of  attempted  fraud 
or  neglect  of  family  or  some  other  condition  which  may 
call  for  discipline,  supplemented,  if  necessary,  by  the 
temporary,  or  even  the  permanent  care  of  members  of  the 
family  who  can  be  protected,  it  may  be,  only  by  removal 
from  the  home.2  These  modifying  considerations,  how- 
ever, should  not  be  allowed  to  obscure  the  fundamental 
principle. 

That  there  is  a  similarity  in  the  effect  on  character 
between  charitable  gifts  and  that  which  is  obtained  by 

1  The  relief,  for  example,  supplied  in  the  case  of  John  Williams  (p.  239) 
is  seen  to  have  been  entirely  unjustifiable. 

2  The  decision  recorded  in  the  case  of  Campbell  (see  p.  208)  should  have 
been  that  the  family  was  entitled  to  no  relief,  unless  the  forcible  removal 
of  the  children  from  the  influence  of  such  parents  as  are  described,  be  re- 
garded as  relief  —  a  step  which  does  not  seem  to  have  been  considered  ad- 
visable in  this  instance. 


22  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PARTI 

inheritance  or  in  other  ways  independent  of  the  individ- 
ual services  of  the  recipient,  there  is  no  denying;  but  the 
comparison  will  yield  as  much  reason  for  accepting  as  for 
rejecting  the  principle  recommended.  One  family  which 
has  furnished  to  the  republic  a  remarkable  number  of  dis- 
tinguished citizens  has  seen  in  the  same  and  immediately 
following  generation  one  after  another  of  its  most  promising 
young  men  utterly  ruined  from  having  received  liberal 
sums  of  money  by  legacy  or  bequest.  At  the  other  end 
of  the  social  scale,  an  instance  has  come  to  the  writer's 
attention  of  a  woman  of  middle  age  who  had  supported 
herself  as  a  domestic  until  she  received  an  unexpected 
legacy  of  a  few  hundred  dollars,  as  the  result  of  which  she 
immediately  became  an  inmate  of  the  alcoholic  ward,  and  on 
her  discharge  found  that  her  capacity  for  self-support  had 
vanished.  No  statistics  of  the  effect  of  legacies  on  rich 
and  poor  are  available,  and  it  is  doubtless  true  that  they 
may  be  of  benefit  as  well  as  of  injury.  In  other  words, 
those  to  whom  is  presented  the  choice  between  a  life  of 
comparative  idleness  and  a  continuance  of  those  habits  of 
industry  which  have  previously  been  acquired,  may  resist 
the  temptation  to  choose  wrongly.  Since,  however,  char- 
itable resources  have  not  been  shown  to  be  greater  than 
are  required  for  real  needs,  the  community  is  clearly  jus- 
tified in  refusing  to  present  this  choice,  either  through 
public  or  through  private  beneficence. 

It  is  equally  true  that  those  who  find  themselves  unable 
to  maintain  the  standard  of  living  which  is  accepted  by 
the  community  as  normal  should  have  assistance,  and  that 
such  assistance  should  always,  if  possible,  be  of  a  kind  that 
will  eventually  remove  the  disability.  The  best  occupa- 
tion for  a  sick  person,  says  a  shrewd  and  sensible  physician, 
is  to  get  well.  The  best  occupation  for  any  family  whose 
income  is  below  the  minimum  which  permits  a  normal 
standard  of  living  is  to  raise  it,  and  one  of  the  wisest 
occupations  for  their  neighbors,  from  either  a  selfish  or  an 
altruistic  point  of  view,  is  to  encourage  this  process.1 

The  third  deduction  to  be  made  from  the  recognition  of 
the  standard  of  living  is  that  there  is  such  a  thing  as  a 

1  In  this  connection  one  may  profitably  study  the  cases  of  Friedrich, 
Sheehan,  Caspar,  Sidney,  Bowles,  and  many  others  described  in  Part  II. 


CHAP,  ii      DISCRIMINATION  BASED   ON   KNOWLEDGE  23 

criminal  failure,  justifying  correctional,  disciplinary,  and 
protective  measures.  The  man  who,  from  an  appetite  for 
strong  drink  or  from  the  survival  of  migratory  instincts, 
or  from  any  other  unsocial  and  antisocial  motives  and  im- 
pulses, fails  to  provide  for  his  own  support  and  that  of  others 
who  are  naturally  dependent  upon  him,  may  require  segre- 
gation or  punishment  before  relief  methods  are  applicable. 
The  faults  of  the  head  of  a  family  should  not  become  a 
reason  for  refusing  relief  to  its  other  members,  but  his 
faults  may  require  attention  before  relief  is  advisable. 
Such  punishment  or  segregation  may  not  always  be  prac- 
ticable. The  one  who  is  responsible  for  the  neglect,  mal- 
treatment, or  desertion  of  the  family  may  have  escaped 
beyond  the  jurisdiction  of  the  state,  or  it  may  be  that 
there  is  an  absence  of  legal  evidence,  even  when  the  facts 
are  notorious.  These  practical  difficulties,  however,  point 
to  modification  in  the  penal  code  or  in  the  practice  of  the 
courts,  and  in  no  way  affect  the  governing  principle.1 

The  fourth  and  final  consideration  to  which  attention 
may  be  called  is  the  necessity  for  an  accurate  knowledge  of 
the  facts,  the  elimination  of  fraud,  an  investigation  suffi- 
ciently thorough  to  leave  no  doubt  whatever  of  the  amount 
of  income,  of  the  expenditure  necessary  to  maintain  the 
proposed  standard  of  living,  of  the  personal  and  special 
resources  of  the  family,  and  of  all  other  facts  essential  to 
a  sound  judgment  as  to  the  extent  to  which  charitable 
relief  is  required.  Absolute  privacy  in  regard  to  one's 
personal  and  domestic  affairs  is  inconsistent  with  a  sound 
policy  of  relief.  Publicity,  however,  in  regard  to  such 
affairs,  such  as  is  sometimes  given  by  the  sensational  public 
press,  or  by  irresponsible  almoners,  who  undertake  to  col- 
lect funds,  is  entirely  unnecessary.  The  requisite  knowl- 
edge of  the  circumstances  need  not  be  shared  by  many, 
but  the  few  upon  whom  the  responsibility  rests  should 
have  full  and  reliable  information. 

1  Ample  demonstration  of  the  necessity  for  discipline  and  reformation 
will  be  found  in  illustrative  cases  set  forth  in  the  present  volume.  Atten- 
tion may  be  asked  especially  to  the  cases  of  Dolan,  p.  224,  Campbell,  p.  208, 
Bonner,  p.  227,  and  Jones,  p.  227.  In  some  instances  recourse  is  necessary 
to  the  criminal  law,  but  in  others,  notwithstanding  grave  moral  short- 
comings, a  complete  reformation  and  improvement  have  been  brought 
about  entirely  by  personal  influence. 


24  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PARTI 

If  these  four  conditions  are  observed:  I.  discrimina- 
tion based  upon  full  knowledge;  II.  disciplinary  treatment 
of  those  who  are  criminally  responsible  for  dependence ; 
III.  relief  with  intelligent  oversight  for  those  who  cannot 
maintain  a  normal  standard  of  living ;  IV.  the  refusal 
of  all  charitable  support  to  those  who  can  —  there  may  be 
practically  unlimited  increase  in  the  funds  available  for 
relief,  without  either  danger  of  pauperization  or  danger  of 
exceeding  the  need. 

When  the  actual  earning  capacity  of  the  family  is  below 
the  point  of  physical  or  moral  well-being,  the  deficiency 
may  ordinarily  be  made  up  by  outside  aid.  Whenever 
possible,  assistance  should  be  of  such  a  kind  as  to  increase 
the  earning  capacity  and  so  make  further  aid  unnecessary. 
When  the  deficiency  is,  however,  inevitable  and  perma- 
nent, the  aid  must  be  likewise  permanent.  This  is  the 
fundamental  and  comprehensive  principle  of  relief.  It  is 
subject  to  certain  limitations,  to  which  attention  will  be 
called  in  due  time ;  but  the  principle  itself  should  not  be 
lost  in  the  consideration  of  exceptions  and  limitations. 
The  principle  that  relief  may  properly  be  supplied  to  make 
good  a  temporary  or  permanent  deficiency  in  the  wage- 
earning  capacity  of  the  family,  is  not  to  be  confused  with 
the  practice  of  the  old  English  poor  law  in  providing 
relief  in  aid  of  wages.  We  are  not  to  supply  relief  in 
order  that  employers  may  get  the  benefit  of  underpaid 
labor  ;  we  are  not  to  encourage,  directly  or  indirectly, 
the  payment  of  wages  below  the  normal  and  self-sup- 
porting standard,  in  the  expectation  that  a  part  of  the 
income  of  wage-earners  will  be  supplied  from  charitable 
sources.  Charitable  relief  is  not  an  efficient  lever  with 
which  to  raise  the  standard  of  living  among  those  who 
have  normal  wage-earning  capacity ;  it  is  only  when  from 
some  definite  reason  the  family  is  below  the  level  of 
normal  wage-earning  power,  that  relief  is  justified.  Relief 
is  not  a  substitute  for  wages  in  whole  or  in  part,  but  is  a 
substitute  for  income  necessary  for  the  supply  of  the 
necessities  and  the  ordinary  comforts  of  life,  when  such 
income  cannot  be  earned. 

There  are  two  persistent  delusions  from  which  we  need 
thoroughly  to  free  our  minds.  One  of  these  is  that  there 


CHAP,  ii       RELIEF   TO   BE   JUDGED   BY  ITS   EFFECT  25 

is  something  meritorious  in  the  mere  act  of  giving  relief, 
regardless  of  the  need  for  it  and  regardless  of  the  adapt- 
ability of  the  particular  form  of  relief  to  the  need.  The 
other  is  that  the  sole  or  principal  danger  is  that  the 
relief  extended  is  likely  to  pauperize  the  individual  aided, 
and  that  therefore  an  elaborate  series  of  precautions  must 
be  devised  to  enable  relief  to  be  given  safely.  We  are 
accustomed  to  think  of  every  charitable  act  and  of  all  mis- 
sionary effort  as  beyond  measure  of  price,  as  precious  and 
praiseworthy  beyond  human  calculation.  Entire  candor, 
however,  and  sober  reflection  demand  a  revision  of  these 
estimates.  Every  charitable  intent  and  every  missionary 
impulse  are  indeed  of  infinite  value  to  those  who  feel  such 
impulse  and  perform  such  act ;,  but,  concretely,  from  the 
standpoint  of  one  whose  needs  have  given  rise  to  the 
impulse  and  act,  their  value  may  be  very  slight  indeed. 
The  interests  of  humanity,  and  especially  of  those  who 
need  effective  aid,  are  paramount,  and  many  things  done 
from  good  motives  are  injurious  and  not  helpful.  Not 
all  men  and  women  are  by  nature,  or  can  easily  be  made 
to  become,  effective  practical  workers  in  a  charity  organi- 
zation society,  or  a  social  settlement,  or  a  day  nursery, 
or  the  social  activities  of  the  church.  When,  therefore, 
a  limited  number,  however  small,  find  themselves  by  an 
irresistible  inner  call,  by  a  consciousness  of  the  power  to 
accomplish,  set  apart  for  the  reclamation  of  the  social 
debtors  and  the  creation  of  social  conditions  which  shall 
lessen  the  number  of  the  dependent,  there  is  greater  cause 
for  felicitation  than  if  a  wave  of  superficial  interest 
sweeps  over  the  community  leaving  little  but  a  vague 
unrest  as  a  sign  of  its  passing. 

The  second  error  of  which  we  should  strive  to  be  free 
is  that  of  fixing  attention  exclusively  on  the  safeguards, 
necessarily  more  or  less  artificial,  with  which  we  seek  to 
surround  our  charity  in  order  that  it  may  not  pauperize. 
Perhaps  it  will  best  aid  us  in  reaching  a  right  perspective 
to  be  reminded  that  people  become  dependent  in  other 
ways  than  by  receiving  relief.  ^  To  be  born  and  nurtured 
among  squalid  and  indecent  living  conditions,  to  have  the 
physical  strength  undermined  by  disease,  by  undernu- 
trition  and  abuse,  to  be  given  a  perverted  education  in  a 


26  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  i 

school  of  vice,  to  be  deprived  of  suitable  parental  care,  to 
be  compelled  to  straggle  hopelessly  for  the  support  of 
one's  family  against  adverse  industrial  and  social  sur- 
roundings over  which  the  individual  can  exert  no  effec- 
tive control,  to  become  enslaved  by  drink  or  other  ani- 
mal appetites,  are  dangers  as  great,  some  of  them  indeed 
far  greater,  than  to  be  given  unearned  money. A  The 
danger  of  being  pauperized  by  relief  is  a  real  one,  but  it 
should  not  become  so  exaggerated  as  to  blind  us  to  other 
dangers,  nor  what  is  much  more  likely,  should  it  lead  us 
to  underestimate  the  need  for  relief  or  the  beneficent 
result  which  it  may  accomplish. 

Modern  charity,  whether  inspiring  individual  acts  of 
generosity  or  concerted  movements  of  great  social  signifi- 
cance, differs  so  widely  from  the  mediseval  type  that  it  is 
difficult  not  to  feel  some  sympathy  for  what  is  probably  the 
vain  attempt  to  find  a  new  name  for  it.  This  modern 
charity  is  distinctly  social,  as  contrasted  with  the  indi- 
vidualistic character  of  earlier  almsgiving  ;  it  is  demo- 
cratic, as  contrasted  with  the  aloofness  of  the  giver  of  the 
doles  ;  it  is  constructive,  as  contrasted  with  the  disin- 
tegrating and  demoralizing  effect  of  impulsive  gifts. 

Relief  funds,  under  the  influence  of  the  modern  spirit, 
are  no  longer  to  be  regarded  as  sums  forever  set  apart  to 
be  expended  in  meeting  an  annually  recurring  number  of 
cases  of  destitution  of  particular  kinds,  merely  because 
those  cases  fall  within  the  stipulated  categories.  With 
this  idea  in  mind,  great  apprehension  not  unnaturally 
arises  at  the  creation  of  any  large  relief  fund,  because  ex- 
perience has  shown  that  in  almost  any  community  the  num- 
ber of  unfortunates  of  the  class  for  whom  it  was  intended 
will  readily  arise  to  absorb  the  entire  available  fund.  The 
modern  idea  of  relief  funds  is  different.  They  are  regarded 
as  sums  of  money  from  the  expenditure  of  which  certain  defi- 
nite results  are  to  be  obtained.  By  caring  for  consumptives, 
for  example,  in  a  rational  way,  and  adopting  suitable  sup- 
plementary measures,  the  scourge  of  tuberculosis  is  to  be 
eradicated  and  further  expenditures  for  the  relief  of  con- 
sumptives thus  made  superfluous.  By  providing  for  crip- 
pled children  in  appropriate  hospitals,  or  at  least  under 
competent  surgical  advice,  a  large  proportion  are  to  be 


CHAP,  ii      THE   NEW   CONCEPTION   OF  RELIEF  FUNDS  27 

cured,  and  hand  in  hand  with  this  care  is  to  go  such  edu- 
cational and  sanitary  work  as  shall  greatly  reduce  the 
number  of  preventable  cases.  A  large  expenditure,  com- 
prehensively planned  and  made  with  courage  and  de- 
termination, thus  takes  the  place  of  a  bungling  and 
inadequate  expenditure  which  reaches  results  rather  than 
causes,  and  which  must  be  continued  indefinitely  because 
the  sources  of  distress  remain  untouched.  The  danger 
of  a  relief  fund  is  reduced  to  a  minimum  if  it  may  be  freely 
used  to  attack  the  evil  on  all  sides,  and  if  those  who  man- 
age it  are  inspired  by  at  least  the  possibility  of  accomplish- 
ing definite  results.  It  is  not  solely  a  question  of  the 
amount  of  the  available  fund.  The  large  expenditure  to 
which  reference  has  been  made  necessarily  includes  a  very 
considerable  outlay  for  the  personal  oversight  and  intelli- 
gent direction  through  which  alone  the  fund  becomes  in 
any  genuine  sense  a  relief  fund.  Effective  control  is  less 
practicable  in  the  case  of  families  that  are  aided  in  their 
own  homes  than  with  inmates  of  institutions,  but  a  certain 
degree  of  control  and  cooperation  can  always  be  secured  if 
there  is  trained  and  competent  service. 

Modern  charity  has  invaded  the  field  of  municipal  and 
state  administration,  influencing  the  use  of  public  funds  — 
here  again,  however,  not  for  palliative,  but  for  thorough- 
going remedial  measures.  It  is  not  that  government  has 
been  asked  to  extend  its  operations  into  many  new  fields, 
but  rather  that  in  the  tasks  which  have  longest  been  rec- 
ognized as  appropriate  public  functions  there  shall  be  a 
new  spirit  and  new  standards  of  efficiency .  The  care  of 
the  dependent  poor,  the  provision  of  parks  and  play- 
grounds, sanitary  inspection  of  dwellings,  elementary 
education,  correctional  and  reformatory  work,  and  even 
certain  aspects  of  ordinary  police  duty,  are  now  subjected 
to  the  searching  scrutiny  of  practical  workers  in  charitable 
societies,  who  insist  upon  some  positive  evidences  of  the 
modern  spirit  of  brotherhood  and  humanity  on  the  part  of 
those  who  are  chosen  as  the  servants  of  the  community. 

And  so  modern  charity  is  aggressive,  clear-sighted, 
practical ;  mingling  with  its  pity  for  human  woe  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  resources  of  modern  science  for  its  alleviation, 
and  finding  for  all  the  injustice  and  oppression  that  exists 


28  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

some  redress  in  law  or  in  an  enlightened  public  opinion. 
In  the  following  chapter,  the  attempt  will  be  made  to  set 
forth  more  concretely  the  conception  of  the  standard  of 
living  to  which  we  have  given  a  central  place  in  the  formu- 
lation of  the  general  theory  of  a  relief  policy. 


CHAPTER    III 

THE    STANDARD   OF   LIVING 

IN  attempting  to  describe  in  detail  what  is  demanded  by 
the  standard  of  living  in  the  larger  cities  of  the  United 
States,  it  will  be  better  at  the  outset  not  to  consider  princi- 
pally dependent  families  or  those  which  are  at  the  lowest 
round  of  income  and  expenditure.  To  apply  the  standard 
to  the  case  of  those  who  are  thus  situated  is  the  principal 
task  of  the  practical  charity  worker,  but  in  order  to  ascer- 
tain what  measure  is  to  be  applied,  we  must  consider  the 
circumstances  of  those  who  have  not  encountered  excep- 
tional misfortune  and  whose  earning  capacity  is  not  abnor- 
mally deficient.  We  shall  not,  of  course,  discover  a 
clearly  defined  class  with  identical  incomes  or  with  uni- 
form expenditures.  On  the  contrary,  on  account  of  the 
great  diversity  in  the  number  of  persons  constituting  the 
family  unit,  in  the  relative  number  of  wage-earners,  in 
occupations,  in  the  percentage  of  time  employed,  in  the 
exceptional  expenses  of  various  kinds,  and  in  the  degree 
of  judgment  exercised  in  the  use  of  money,  it  will  be  found 
that  no  two  families  are  in  exactly  the  same  position. 
Notwithstanding  this,  it  is  possible  in  general  terms  to 
describe  some  of  the  elements  of  usual  expenditure,  from 
which  sufficiently  clear  calculations  may  be  made  for  prac- 
tical purposes  when  it  is  desired  to  ascertain  whether  a 
given  individual  or  family  is  falling  below  it. 

Possibly  food  is  the  most  elementary  necessity  of  life, 
but  in  the  plans  of  a  majority  of  the  families  in  question 
it  is  fair  to  say  that  the  problem  of  rent  is  one  which 
receives  earlier  attention  and  causes  greater  anxiety ; 
and  it  is  possible  that  if  the  items  for  which  provision 
must  be  made  were  arranged  in  the  order  of  their  impor- 
tance to  the  majority  of  the  poor  in  the  great  cities,  among 

29 


30  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

the  unexpected  features  of  such  a  table  would  be,  that  in 
advance  of  both  food  and  shelter  would  appear  provision 
for  burial,  so  strong  and  universal  is  the  desire  not  to  be 
buried  in  a  pauper  grave.  Some  form  of  life  insurance 
sufficient  to  meet  the  burial  expenses  of  the  individual 
insured  may  therefore  be  enumerated  first,  however  dis- 
tasteful the  idea  of  burial  insurance  may  be  to  those  who 
are  in  more  comfortable  circumstances,  and  however  ex- 
pensive the  prevalent  forms  of  insurance  may  appear.  The 
insurance  may  take  the  form  of  membership  in  a  mutual 
benefit  society  of  some  kind,  or  it  may  be  an  incident  to  a 
local  political  organization,  or  to  membership  in  a  church, 
but  in  a  large  number  of  instances  it  will  probably  be  in 
the  nature  of  "  industrial  insurance,"  obtained  by  small 
weekly  payments,  the  amount  of  the  policy  varying  with 
the  length  of  time  for  which  payments  have  been  made, 
and  other  conditions  specified  in  the  contract. 

For  shelter  a  family  of  five  persons  will  require  not  less 
than  three  rooms,  and  even  with  eight  or  nine  persons  in 
the  family,  five  rooms  will  usually  in  a  city  of  tenement 
houses  be  considered  reasonable  provision.  It  is  also  essen- 
tial that  the  building  used  for  dwelling  purposes  shall  be 
constructed  in  such  a  way  as  to  give  to  the  tenants  a 
reasonable  amount  of  light  and  air ;  protection  from  fire ; 
lighted  halls,  and  safeguards  against  any  special  dangers 
to  life  and  limb,  such  as  result  from  buildings  which  are 
structurally  defective.  As  it  is  obvious  that  the  number 
of  rooms  is  not  of  itself  a  test  of  the  adequacy  of  the 
apartment,  various  attempts  have  been  made,  by  pre- 
scribing the  number  of  cubic  feet  for  each  family  or 
the  number  of  cubic  feet  for  each  occupant  of  a  room,  to 
establish  a  satisfactory  minimum.  Such  progress  has 
been  made  in  the  building  laws  that  it  is  perhaps  sufficient 
to  say,  for  the  more  enlightened  communities,  that  the 
standard  of  living  requires  compliance  with  the  statutes 
and  local  ordinances  which  have  been  enacted.  There 
is  no  community,  however  progressive,  in  which  such  pro- 
visions are  not  frequently  violated. 

The  ordinary  diet  of  American  working  people  is 
abundant  and  varied.  It  includes  daily  use  of  meat, 
vegetables,  milk,  fruit,  and  coffee  or  tea.  The  ordinary 


CHAP,  in  SHELTER  — FOOD  — FURNITURE  31 

budget,  therefore,  from  which  shortcomings  are  to  be 
measured,  is  exceptionally  high,  at  least  as  far  as  the  quan- 
tity and  variety  of  articles  of  food  are  concerned.  Possibly 
not  so  much  can  be  said  as  to  its  preparation  or  as  to  the 
extent  to  which  it  is  adapted  to  the  physiological  needs  of 
the  people.  Reformers  are  therefore  rightly  directing  their 
energies  toward  improvement  in  cooking,  in  the  selection  of 
foods,  and  in  the  forming  of  dietaries  that  are  well  adapted 
to  the  kind  of  labor  to  be  performed.  In  a  word,  it  may 
be  laid  down  for  our  purpose  that  the  standard  of  living 
must  include  enough  to  eat,  both  for  adults  and  children, 
and  not  too  small  a  number  of  different  articles  of  food.  It 
may  be  added  that  in  a  normal  family  life  the  meals  are 
served  regularly,  the  entire  family  participating  in  a  com- 
mon meal  usually  three  times  a  day.  Of  course  individual 
wage-earners  may  find  themselves  at  a  distance  from  home 
at  meal  time,  especially  at  the  time  of  the  midday  meal, 
and  may  therefore  be  obliged  to  eat  at  restaurants  or  from 
a  dinner  pail.  The  practice,  however,  among  many  of 
those  for  whom  the  economic  struggle  is  most  severe,  of 
feeding  at  any  time  without  regard  to  a  formal  meal,  is  a 
distinct  and  unfortunate  departure  from  normal  family 
life.  Especially  pernicious  is  the  practice  of  giving  to 
children  a  few  pennies  to  buy  cakes  or  other  things  to  eat 
when  they  are  hungry,  instead  of  providing  a  regular  meal 
to  be  eaten  under  the  oversight  of  the  mother,  or  in  com- 
pany with  the  entire  family;  and  all  such  irregularities 
must  be  looked  upon  as  a  departure  from  a  satisfactory 
standard. 

The  household  furniture  deemed  essential  in  the  fami- 
lies of  restricted  income  in  American  cities,  is  mainly  the 
product  of  the  modern  factory.  There  are  fewer  heir- 
looms and  heavy  pieces  of  substantial  furniture  than  in 
the  country,  or  in  the  cities  of  European  countries.  It 
is  apt  to  be  light,  showy,  and  not  especially  durable.  On 
the  other  hand  it  can  be  easily  moved,  it  is  well  adapted 
to  the  special  needs  of  modern  life  in  cities,  and  can  be 
purchased  on  instalment ;  that  is,  on  monthly  payments, 
the  aggregate  of  which  will,  however,  be  beyond  the  cash 
value  of  the  articles  purchased.  On  the  whole,  being 
light  and  of  materials  that  can  be  more  easily  cleaned,  it 


32  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

is  probably  to  be  preferred  to  the  more  lasting  and  costly 
furniture  that  it  has  replaced.  A  stove,  a  table,  several 
chairs,  a  sofa,  a  bureau,  cooking  and  table  utensils,  car- 
pets, rugs  or  oilcloth,  and  two  or  more  beds,  according 
to  the  size  of  the  family,  may  be  enumerated  as  the 
requisites,  and  to  these  will  be  added,  almost  universally, 
some  pictures,  inexpensive  mirrors,  a  clock,  and  probably 
a  few  books  and  ornaments.  The  addition  of  a  sewing- 
machine,  which  is  not  at  all  uncommon,  may  be  regarded 
as  a  means  of  livelihood,  or  as  an  economy  in  the  mak- 
ing of  clothes  and  in  enabling  them  to  last  a  longer  time, 
rather  than  as  an  article  of  furniture. 

Clothing  is  an  important  item  in  the  family  budget, 
although  the  kind  and  quantity  vary  so  greatly  that  it 
can  be  described  only  in  the  most  general  terms.  It  is 
sufficient  to  say  that  besides  working  clothes,  for  which 
discarded  suits  originally  made  for  other  purposes  are 
not  deemed  satisfactory,  there  must  also  be  available  a 
decent  suit  for  holidays  and  formal  occasions,  and  that, 
especially  in  the  northern  cities,  where  there  are  great 
extremes  of  heat  and  cold,  there  must  be  clothing  adapted 
to  each  season.  For  winter,  underclothes  as  well  as  outer 
garments  of  sufficient  warmth  are  essential,  and  in  summer 
also,  undergarments  are  perhaps  the  rule  rather  than  the 
exception.  Shoes  and  hats  are,  of  course,  to  be  included 
and  a  moderate  allowance  for  collars,  ribbons,  and  other 
ornamental  articles  of  apparel. 

The  standard  of  living  is  rapidly  tending  to  include,  if 
it  does  not  already  include,  ready  access  to  running  water, 
a  separate  bath-room  and  a  separate  toilet-room  for  each 
family,  and  many  other  conveniences  and  decencies  which 
need  not  be  enumerated,  since  they  depend  upon  local 
accidental  customs  and  conditions.  A  plentiful  supply 
of  pure  water,  clean  streets  and  pavements,  good  public 
schools,  opportunity  for  religious  worship,  freedom  to  con- 
gregate and  hold  public  meetings  for  any  lawful  purposes, 
even-handed  justice  in  the  courts,  an  honest  and  efficient 
administration  of  the  law,  full  participation  in  the  selection 
of  law-makers  and  other  public  officials,  and  the  exercise 
of  other  political,  civic,  and  social  rights  and  privileges, 
are,  equally  with  the  features  described  more  in  detail, 


CHAP,  in        MEDICAL   ATTENDANCE  — RECREATION  33 

component  parts  of  the  standard  of  living.  If  justice  in 
a  given  case  should  be  denied,  it  may  be  quite  as  much 
the  duty  of  a  charitably  disposed  neighbor  to  aid  in  secur- 
ing it  as  it  is  to  provide  food  or  shelter.  The  refusal  of 
the  right  to  vote  to  those  upon  whom  this  right  is  con- 
ferred by  the  constitution  and  law,  may  be  as  much  an 
infringement  of  the  standard  of  living  as  the  payment 
of  inadequate  wages,  or  the  withholding  of  material 
relief. 

Medical  attendance,  under  which  should  be  included  the 
care  of  the  eyes  and  teeth,  and  other  needs  involving  the 
services  of  specialists,  obstetrical  services,  and  necessary 
surgical  attendance,  and  care,  if  necessary,  during  con- 
valescence from  illness,  is  included  in  the  standard  of  liv- 
ing, waiving  for  the  present  the  question  as  to  whether 
it  should  be  met  entirely  from  the  ordinary  income,  or 
whether,  like  public  education  and  privately  supported 
libraries,  it  should  come  in  part  from  public  appropriations 
and  private  munificence.  Newspapers  and  access  to  pub- 
lic libraries  are  all  but  universal. 

Finally,  rational  living  demands  not  only  time  but  oppor- 
tunity for  rest,  recreation,  and  social  enjoyment.  Entire 
freedom  from  ordinary  labor  one  day  in  seven,  freedom 
from  the  necessity  of  working  more  than  ten  hours  in 
each  twenty-four,  and  in  many  occupations  more  than 
eight  hours  in  the  twenty -four,  are  the  essentials,  and  still 
further  deductions  are  likely  to  be  made  for  ordinary 
holidays  averaging  eight  or  ten  in  the  year,  and  some- 
times, especially  in  the  summer  months,  for  Saturday  half 
holiday.  It  is  not  material  for  our  present  purpose 
whether  these  deductions  are  at  the  expense  of  the  em- 
ployee or  the  employer.  If  employees  are  in  position  to 
obtain  this  free  time  at  their  own  expense,  and  value  it 
sufficiently  to  allow  the  deduction  to  be  made,  then  the 
additional  free  time  is  a  part  of  their  standard  of  living 
just  as  are  their  food,  their  shelter,  and  their  freedom  from 
work  on  Sunday. 

It  is  not  possible  to  obtain  a  clear  conception  of  the 
prevalent  standard  of  living  merely  by  enumerating  the 
goods  which  at  a  given  moment  are  in  the  possession  of 
the  families  under  consideration;  it  is  necessary  to  follow 


34  PRINCIPLES   OF  BELIEF  PARTI 

their  fortunes  through  an  entire  generation,  or,  what  is 
equivalent,  to  consider  the  position  of  the  children,  the 
middle  aged,  and  those  of  advanced  years  in  the  household 
economy.  We  must  find  out  what  happens  in  sickness, 
in  hard  times,  and  at  times  when  there  is  a  distinct  re- 
versal in  the  family  fortunes.  The  family  is  on  the  right 
side  of  self-support  only  when,  one  year  after  another,  in 
hard  times  as  well  as  in  periods  of  prosperity,  they  are  able 
to  remain  independent ;  they  must  be  able  to  provide 
insurance  against  accident  and  death ;  they  must  be  able 
to  keep  the  children  at  school  until  they  are  physically 
and  mentally  ready  for  work;  they  must  be  able  to  obtain 
sufficient  relaxation  and  recreation  to  prevent  premature 
breakdown  of  the  physical  system.  Those  who  do  not 
have  the  expense  of  rearing  children,  and  who  are  there- 
fore deprived  of  support  from  their  own  offspring  when 
grown  to  manhood,  must  lay  aside,  either  in  the  form  of 
insurance  or  in  that  of  savings,  enough  to  provide  for 
their  own  old  age. 

The  standard  of  living,  whatever  physical  comforts  it 
includes  at  a  given  period  of  life,  must  be  understood  to 
imply  an  income  which  will  take  the  individual  of  the 
normal  family  safely  through  the  ordinary  vicissitudes  of 
life  without  reliance  upon  charitable  assistance,  although 
not  indeed  necessarily  without  mutual  interchange  of  many 
courtesies  and  favors  from  friends  and  neighbors.  If  the 
income  is  earned  not  by  the  head  of  the  family  alone,  but  by 
the  wife  and  one  or  more  children,  it  should  be  larger  in 
amount,  other  things  being  considered,  than  if  it  is  due 
entirely  to  the  earnings  of  the  natural  breadwinner,  since 
there  should  be  a  deduction  from  the  earnings  of  the  chil-. 
dren,even  if  of  wage-earning  age,  to  provide  for  their  future 
household  expenses;  and,  if  the  earnings  are  in  part  by  the 
wife,  there  should  be  a  deduction  to  provide  for  the  assist- 
ance which  under  such  circumstances  should  be  given  to  the 
household  work. 

It  is  a  somewhat  venturesome  though  tempting  under- 
taking to  express  in  terms  of  money  income  the  standard  of 
living  to  which  the  average  family  which  remains  entirely 
independent  of  charitable  relief  has  actually  attained.  If 
it  is  difficult,  because  of  the  great  diversities  in  individual 


CHAP,  in  AS   MEASURED   IN  MONEY  INCOME  35 

families,  to  describe  concretely  the  actual  commodities, 
comforts,  services,  and  privileges  which  the  standard  of 
living  demands,  it  is  equally  difficult,  although  there  is, 
perhaps,  less  actual  diversity,  to  estimate  what  income  is 
necessary  to  secure  these  particular  necessities  and  com- 
forts in  a  given  city  at  a  given  time.  Recognizing  the 
tentative  character  of  such  an  estimate,  it  may  be  worth 
while  to  record  the  opinion  that  in  New  York  City,  where 
rentals  and  provisions  are,  perhaps,  more  expensive  than 
in  any  other  large  city,  for  an  average  family  of  five  per- 
sons the  minimum  income  on  which  it  is  practicable  to 
remain  self-supporting,  and  to  maintain  any  approach  to  a 
decent  standard  of  living,  is  $600  a  year.  Those  who 
receive  less  than  this  sum  are  almost  invariably  dependent, 
in  part,  upon  others  for  some  of  the  things  which  have 
been  enumerated  as  forming  a  part  of  the  standard  of 
living,  or  they  are  deprived  of  things  which  are  essential 
according  to  the  opinion  of  their  neighbors  and  friends. 
This  is  not  to  say  that  an  income  of  $600  a  year  is  suffi- 
cient to  maintain  the  standard  of  living  of  a  skilled 
artisan  or  even  of  those  who  are  engaged  in  many  occupa- 
tions which  are  ordinarily  described  as  unskilled.  It  is 
rather  an  estimate  of  the  absolute  minimum  below  which 
earnings  cannot  fall  without  either  constituting  a  just 
claim  upon  the  consideration  of  the  charitable,  or  at  least 
arousing  the  apprehension  of  those  who  look  forward  to 
the  effect  upon  the  rising  generation  of  a  meagre  supply 
of  the  necessities  and  decencies  of  living. 

If  a  considerable  number,  constituting  a  natural  group, 
are  found  to  be  in  receipt  of  an  income  of  less  than  this 
amount,  it  may  be  impracticable  for  charitable  assistance 
to  make  good  the  deficit;  and  it  is  even  true  that  an 
attempt  to  supplement  ordinary  wages  by  charitable  relief 
would  have  the  effect  of  continuing  an  inadequate  scale  of 
wages  or  particular  occupations  for  which  there  is  no 
longer  any  legitimate  need.  It  is  only  when  individuals 
or  individual  families,  for  personal  or  accidental  or  tem- 
porary reasons,  fall  below  the  standard,  that  charitable 
assistance  can  effectively  intervene.  In  other  words,  as 
has  been  pointed  out  in  other  connections,  the  relief  policy 
cannot  be  made  to  raise  the  general  standard  of  living, 


36  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  i 

but  it  should  be  so  shaped  as  not  to  depress  it.  A  recogni- 
tion of  the  standard  of  living  must  enter  as  an  element  in 
determining  what  course  to  pursue,  and  especially  in  deter- 
mining what  amount  of  relief  is  required  to  meet  indi- 
vidual needs.  If  it  is  true  that  the  living  conditions,  for 
example,  in  New  York  City,  require  an  income  of  $600 
for  a  family  of  five  persons,  then,  after  making  due  allow- 
ance for  whatever  earnings  and  supplementary  income  are 
possible,  the  relief  provided  should  be  not  less  than  the 
amount  required  to  make  up  that  sum.  In  other  words, 
those  who  are  aided  as  a  part  of  a  general  and  systematic 
scheme  of  relief  should  be  aided  to  live  at  the  normal 
standard  of  living,  and  should  not  be  tempted  or  required 
to  live  below  it. 

It  must  be  borne  in  mind  that  the  amount  suggested, 
$ 600  a  year,  is  purely  relative,  and  is  subject  to  change. 
Between  1900  and  1904  there  was  a  very  perceptible  in- 
crease in  the  cost  of  living,  which  is,  perhaps,  fairly  repre- 
sented by  a  very  general  increase  in  rentals  of  from  fifty 
cents  to  three  dollars  a  month  in  the  east  side  tenement- 
houses  which  were  subjected  to  inquiry  upon  this  point.  If 
the  average  increase  was  as  much  as  a  dollar  and  a  half, 
this  represents  an  increase  in  the  item  of  rent  in  the  smaller 
apartments  of  20  per  cent,  and  if  our  estimate  of  the  stand- 
ard of  living  were  to  be  made  for  the  end  of  the  period 
named,  it  is  possible  that  it  should  be  increased  from  1600 
to  $700,  since,  as  has  been  said,  within  the  same  period 
there  was  a  great  increase  in  nearly  all  other  items  of  the 
cost  of  living  as  well  as  in  rentals.  If,  however,  the  average 
conditions  of  the  past  decade  be  considered  the  amount 
first  named  is  probably  not  too  low. 

The  importance  of  the  standard  of  living  can  best  be 
appreciated  when  we  consider  not  merely  of  what  it  con- 
sists at  a  given  time,  but  the  changes  which  it  is  undergo- 
ing. The  most  striking  indication  that  there  has  been 
a  continuous  change  for  the  better  is  revealed  by  a 
study  of  vital  statistics.  This  is  the  diminution  of  the 
death-rate  :  the  prolongation  of  human  life,  and  especially 
the  prolongation  of  the  period  of  childhood,  and  the  con- 
sequent better  preparation  for  the  working  period  of 
life.  In  the  ten  years  between  1890  and  1900  there 


CHAP,  in  DECREASE   IN  THE   DEATH-RATE  37 

was,  in  the  language  of  the  census,  "  a  remarkable  and 
most  satisfactory  decrease  in  the  death-rate."  In  what 
is  known  as  the  registration  area,1  presenting  an  aggregate 
population  in  1900  of  nearly  29,000,000,  the  death-rate 
declined  from  19.6  per  thousand  in  1890  to  17.8  per 
thousand  in  1900,  notwithstanding  the  fact  that  there  was 
a  more  complete  record  and  therefore  a  more  complete 
return  of  deaths  for  the  census  of  1900. 

During  the  same  period  there  was  a  decrease  in  the 
death-rate  of  nearly  all  European  countries,  closely  ap- 
proximating that  given  for  the  registration  area  of  the 
United  States,  indicating  that  the  improvement  is  not  due 
to  local  or  accidental  causes,  but  to  the  advance  of  sanitary 
and  medical  science ;  to  a  general  improvement  of  eco- 
nomic and  social  conditions  or  to  other  similar  causes  oper- 
ating throughout  the  civilized  world.  The  fall  in  the 
death-rate  of  what  is  now  Manhattan  Borough  of  New 
York  City  was  from  26.7  to  21.3,  or  over  20  per  cent. 
This  decrease  is  attributed  to  the  advance  in  medical  and 
surgical  knowledge,  —  especially  in  the  line  of  preventive 
medicine ;  improved  sanitary  surroundings  and  cleaner 
streets ;  and  a  stricter  inspection  of  milk  and  food. 

In  Boston  the  decrease  was  from  23.4  to  20.1,  and  the 
causes  assigned  were  :  improved  water  supply  ;  improved 
sewerage  ;  abolition  of  the  old  vault  system,  and  the  sub- 
stitution of  water-closets ;  additional  public  parks  ;  and 
improved  health  regulations. 

In  Buffalo  the  death-rate  decreased  from  18.4  to  14.8, 
and  from  a  very  complete  analysis  of  the  death-rate  dur- 
ing the  ten  years,  with  tables  snowing  deaths  in  each  year 
by  ages  and  from  certain  causes,  it  appears  that  the  great- 
est decrease  is  in  the  number  of  deaths  recorded  among 
children  under  five  years  of  age,  the  largest  percentage  of 
decrease  being  among  those  under  one  year.  This  is  attrib- 

1  This  area  in  1890  included  Connecticut,  Delaware,  District  of  Colum- 
bia, Massachusetts,  New  Hampshire,  New  Jersey,  New  York,  Rhode 
Island,  and  Vermont,  with  the  cities  therein,  and  83  cities  of  5000  or 
more  population  in  other  states.  In  the  census  of  1900,  the  area  in- 
cluded the  states  named  above,  with  the  exception  of  Delaware,  and 
with  the  addition  of  Maine  and  Michigan,  and  included  153  cities  outside 
the  states  named,  having  a  population  of  8000  or  more.  The  com- 
parison, therefore,  is  not  between  identical  areas. 


38  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PARTI 

uted  to  preventive  and  remedial  agencies,  summarized  as 
follows :  — 

Control  of  the  milk  supply  by  licensing  and  supervision 
of  milk-dealers ;  inspection  of  outside  dairies  supplying 
milk,  and  the  exclusion  of  the  produce  of  dairies  in  un- 
sanitary condition ;  the  enforcement  of  strict  regulations 
requiring  the  immediate  reporting  of  contagious  disease 
(among  which  tuberculosis  is  included) ;  inspection  of 
infected  premises,  and  strict  quarantine  during  the  dis- 
ease, with  complete  disinfection  after  its  termination; 
obligatory  vaccination  of  school  children,  free  baths,  pub- 
lic and  private,  for  bath  and  laundry  purposes.  Tenement- 
houses  and  lodging-houses  are  repeatedly  inspected,  and 
made  to  comply  with  sanitary  regulations,  and  other 
municipal  improvements  are  made  of  a  similar  character. 

The  most  encouraging  fact  about  this  decrease  in  the 
death-rate  is  that  it  has  occurred  not  only  in  the  last  ten 
years,  but  that,  with  minor  fluctuations,  it  has  continued 
for  over  half  a  century,  and  probably  much  longer,  wher- 
ever registration  statistics  are  available. 

From  the  doctrine  that  there  is  in  each  community  a 
definite  standard  of  living,  and  that  charitable  relief  is 
concerned,  not  with  raising  or  lowering  it,  but  rather  with 
eliminating  the  obstacles  which  particular  individuals  and 
families  have  in  realizing  the  standard,  and  in  securing  the 
withdrawal  from  the  industrial  class  of  those  who  are  unfit 
for  a  place  in  it,  there  result  certain  conclusions  which 
must  not  be  overlooked.  The  first  of  these  is  that  the 
community  must  provide  sufficient  hospital  accommoda- 
tion for  the  sick. 

There  are  many  kinds  of  diseases  which  can  be  treated 
effectively  only  in  hospitals  or  sanatoria,  for  which  the 
actual  provision  offered  is  everywhere  totally  inadequate. 
Crippled  children,  consumptives,  and  those  who  are  af- 
flicted by  cancer,  are  the  most  conspicuous  illustrations  ; 
but  it  has  been  demonstrated  that  many  other  forms  of  dis- 
ease, which  have  heretofore  been  neglected  or  treated  only 
at  home,  can  be  treated  more  effectively  in  hospitals.  In 
cases  of  confinement  from  childbirth,  properly  equipped 
maternity  hospitals  offer  greater  safety  and  more  satis- 
factory care  than  is  possible  even  in  the  homes  of  the 


CHAP,  in  PROBLEM  OF   THE   HOSPITALS  39 

well-to-do,  and  certainly  greater  than  can  be  secured,  as 
a  rule,  in  the  tenement-houses. 

At  the  present  time  the  hospital  system  in  American 
cities  appears  to  be  in  a  transitional  stage.     There  exist 
endowed  hospitals,  hospitals  which  are  supported  by  annual 
contributions  and  payment  of  fees  by  patients,  and  those 
which  are  supported  by  public  appropriations  ;  and  many 
institutions  rely,  in  varying  degrees,  upon  all  such  sources 
of  income.      The   financial   problem  of  both  public  and 
private   hospitals   has    become   increasingly  serious.     In 
New  York  City  alone  there  are  twenty  private  hospitals, 
which,  at  the  time  of  this  writing,  have  an  aggregate  annual 
deficit  of  nearly  half  a  million  dollars,  and  officers  and 
managers  are  anxiously  scanning  the  future  to  determine 
whether   there   is   any  manner   in  which   the    encroach- 
ment upon  endowment  funds,  or  the  increase  of  indebt- 
edness, may  be  prevented  and  the  hospitals  enlarged  to 
meet   the  ever  increasing  demands  upon  them.     Frank 
Tucker,  in  an  article  in  Charities  of  January  2,  1904,  pro- 
posed the  creation  of  an  endowment  of  $10,000,000,  under 
the  control  of  an  independent  board  of  trustees,  to  meet 
this    deficiency.     This  paper  gave   rise   to  an   extended 
and  spirited  discussion,  in  the  course  of  which  Dr.  F.  R. 
Sturgis  suggested  that  the  city  should  cease  to  make  any 
payments  to   private   hospitals,    and   should   expend  the 
funds  now  devoted  to  that  purpose  to  the  maintenance  and 
enlargement  of  its  own  institutions.  Dr.  Sturgis  suggested 
that  some  of  the  existing  private  hospitals  should  be  dis- 
continued, by  mutual  consent  ;   that  the  remaining  ones 
would  receive  only  patients  who  are  able  to  pay  for  their 
board  ;  and  that  indigent  patients  would  be  cared  for  by 
the  city  in  its  own  hospitals.     If  the  hospital  system  should 
indeed  develop  in  this  direction,  it  is  probable  that  we 
would  eventually  have  what  might  be  called  a  hospital 
hotel  or  boarding-house,  in  which  patients  would  pay  for 
their  boarding,  while  each  would  make  his  own  arrange- 
ments  as   to   medical   care  with   a  physician  of  his  own 
selection,  precisely  as  if  he  were  living  in  his  own  home 
or  an  ordinary  hotel  or  boarding-house.       There  are  those 
who  distinctly  favor  a  differentiation,  in  this  manner,  be- 
tween the  professional  care  and  the  board,  both  of  which 


40  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

are  now  provided  by  the  hospital.  The  facilities  of  the 
hospital  hotel,  with  its  service  of  nurses  and  attendants, 
would  be  equally  at  the  disposal  of  all  physicians  for 
patients  who  need  to  be  removed  from  their  homes,  and 
who  are  in  a  position  to  pay  for  care  in  private  hospitals. 
While  so  radical  a  departure  from  the  existing  system 
would  seem  improbable,  it  is  quite  within  the  possibility  of 
the  immediate  future  that  there  shall  be  a  sharper  distinc- 
tion between  those  who  are  indigent  and  are  therefore 
legitimate  public  charges,  on  the  one  hand,  and  who,  as  a 
result,  will  be  cared  for  in  public  hospitals,  or  in  private 
hospitals  at  public  expense;  and,  on  the  other,  those  who 
can  pay  for  their  own  treatment,  or  who  can  at  least  pay 
something  for  their  care,  the  remainder  being  made  up  by 
income  from  endowment  or  by  private  donations.  The 
recognition  of  this  distinction,  and  the  assumption  by  the 
city  of  the  expense  of  caring  for  those  who  are  unable  to  pay 
anything  for  their  support  during  illness,  would  probably 
reduce  the  financial  problem  of  the  private  hospitals  to 
manageable  proportions. 

When  once  the  community  has  passed  through  the 
pending  revolution,  and  is  adjusted  to  the  conditions  made 
necessary,  on  the  one  hand,  by  our  congested  population 
and  the  substitution  of  tenements,  flats,  arid  apartments 
for  private  houses;  and  made  possible,  on  the  other,  by  the 
advances  in  medical  and  surgical  science  and  in  nursing, 
it  will  be  found  that  the  care  of  the  sick  in  hospitals  is  not 
only  more  efficient,  but  is  much  more  economical. 

At  the  moment,  this  adjustment  not  having  taken  place, 
there  is  much  confusion  in  the  hospital  situation.  Many 
patients  are  treated  without  charge  who  could  afford  to 
pay  a  proportionate  cost  for  treatment.  The  income  of 
the  hospitals  has  come  in  part,  as  has  been  indicated,  from 
private  contributions,  in  part  from  paying  patients,  in 
part  from  public  subsidies,  and  in  part  from  the  voluntary 
service  of  physicians  and  others.  No  clear  and  consistent 
policy  has  been  followed  by  the  city  and  state  governments 
in  the  making  of  appropriations,  and  there  has  been  great 
diversity  among  the  hospitals  in  their  requirement  of  pay 
from  patients.  Affiliation  with  medical  colleges  has  intro- 
duced another  element,  since  in  such  hospitals  the  supply 


CHAP,  in  LIBERAL  AND  DISCRIMINATING  MEDICAL  RELIEF  41 

of  patients  as  material  for  instruction  and  practice  becomes 
as  important  as  any  other  aspect  of  the  hospital  adminis- 
tration. 

Because  of  the  uncertainty  on  the  part  of  the  charitable 
public  as  to  the  extent  of  the  imposition  practised  by 
patients  who  are  not  really  indigent,  and  the  further 
uncertainty  as  to  how  far  the  hospitals  are  really  needed 
for  purposes  of  medical  instruction,  response  has  been 
less  freely  made  than  the  case  demands  to  the  appeals 
for  that  part  of  the  support  of  the  hospitals  which  must 
come  from  them.  The  medical  profession,  aside  from 
those  who  are  directly  interested  in  the  hospitals,  — 
a  weighty  exception,  since  a  large  and  increasing  number 
of  influential  physicians  are  connected  with  the  hospitals 
in  an  advisory  capacity,  —  naturally  looks  askance  at  the 
growth  of  the  hospital  and  dispensary  system,  especially 
at  the  free  treatment  of  the  class  that  has  heretofore  paid 
for  the  services  of  a  family  physician.  Medical  associa- 
tions have,  therefore,  insisted  upon  greater  discrimination 
on  the  part  of  the  free  hospitals  and  dispensaries,  and  a 
rigid  investigation  of  applicants,  to  ascertain  whether  they 
should  not  be  excluded  as  able  to  employ  a  private  physi- 
cian. The  hospital,  as  a  strictly  eleemosynary  institution, 
would  naturally  accept  this  policy ;  as  interested,  however, 
in  medical  education,  it  must  welcome  a  large  number  of 
patients,  and  especially  those  who  offer  an  interesting  and 
fruitful  field  for  observation  and  study.  The  actual  devel- 
opment of  the  hospital  system  will  be  influenced  by  all  of 
these  considerations. 

Our  present  purpose  is  merely  to  point  out  that  in  addi- 
tion to  these  facts,  which  are  well  known,  a  sound  relief 
policy  on  the  part  of  the  community  is  in  harmony  with 
the  interests  of  medical  institutions  in  favoring  a  consid- 
erable increase  in  hospital  facilities  and  a  liberal  support 
of  the  existing  institutions ;  but  is  likewise  in  harmony 
with  the  demands  of  the  medical  profession  that  discrimi- 
nation should  be  exercised  in  the  selection  and  admission 
of  patients,  and  that  the  increase  should  come,  not  by  con- 
tinuing to  receive  patients  who  are  normally  self-support- 
ing, but  rather  by  seeking  out  and  securing  necessary 
treatment  and  care  for  those  who  are  now  neglected  or 


42  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PARTI 

who  are  vainly  attempting  to  keep  their  place  in  the  indus- 
trial world,  to  which  they  might  be  restored  after  a  longer 
or  shorter  period  of  suitable  material  and  medical  relief. 

The  lengthening  of  adult  life  to  which  attention  has  been 
called  should  naturally  operate  to  lessen  the  need  of  child 
labor,  and  consequently  to  defer  the  period  at  which  wage- 
earning  occupations  begin.  This  is,  however,  one  of  the 
phases  of  social  progress  in  which  there  has  been  the  great- 
est inequality.  In  many  communities  the  industrial  and 
social  conditions  have  permitted  a  shocking  sacrifice  of 
child  life,  and  the  movement  for  legislation  to  prohibit 
child  labor  affords  one  of  the  best  illustrations  of  the  social 
effects  which  may  naturally  be  expected  to  follow  from  the 
recognition  of  the  need  of  a  comprehensive  policy.  Laws 
prohibiting  child  labor  in  mines,  factories,  stores,  and 
offices,  and  requiring  school  attendance,  are  essential  for 
the  physical  and  mental  welfare  of  the  child.  The  laws 
on  this  subject,  in  the  various  states,  are  seriously  defec- 
tive and  curiously  diverse :  for  example,  the  age  below 
which  child  labor  is  prohibited  varies  from  four  to  ten 
years ;  eleven  states  and  territories  have  no  restriction 
whatever  as  to  age.  The  number  of  employments  in 
which  children  may  not  work  also  varies  greatly  —  from 
all  employments  during  school  hours  in  one  state  to  min- 
ing only  in  another.  Seven  states  require  compulsory 
school  attendance  throughout  the  entire  period  during 
which  employment  is  prohibited.  In  New  York  State,  un- 
til 1903,  according  to  the  child-labor  law,  a  child  could  not 
begin  work  under  the  age  of  fourteen,  except  during  the 
vacation  of  the  public  schools.  Under  the  compulsory 
education  law,  however,  children  between  twelve  and 
fourteen  need  attend  school  only  eighty  days  in  the  year, 
and  were  thus  left  free  to  work  for  the  remainder  of  the 
school  year.  The  temptation  for  false  affidavits  was  one 
to  which  parents  yielded  on  a  large  scale. 

Here,  as  in  other  instances,  the  matter  of  prime  impor- 
tance is  to  determine  upon  a  standard 1  and  then  unflinch- 
ingly to  apply  it,  by  act  of  legislature,  by  charitable 
assistance  when  the  law  results  in  undue  hardship,  and 

1  See  Florence  Kelley,  "An  Effective  Child  Labor  Law,"  Annals  of  the 
American  Academy  of  Political  and  Social  Science,  May,  1903. 


CHAP,  in       THE   DEPENDENT   WIDOWS  ARGUMENT  43 

by  the  creation  of  a  public  sentiment  which  will  severely 
condemn  any  deviation  from  it.  Such  a  standard  should 
prohibit  the  employment  of  children  under  the  age  of  four- 
teen, should  require  attendance  at  school  throughout  the 
full  term  during  which  the  schools  are  in  session,  to  the 
age  of  fourteen,  and  to  sixteen  years  if  they  are  not  at 
work  between  fourteen  and  sixteen,  and  should  further 
require  that  children  between  the  ages  of  fourteen  and 
sixteen  shall  be  able  to  read  and  write  the  English 
language  before  they  can  be  legally  employed.1 

The  principal  argument  which  advocates  of  advanced 
legislation  for  the  protection  of  children  have  been  obliged 
to  meet  is  that  their  labor  is  often  essential  to  the  sup- 
port of  a  widowed  mother,  or  of  a  mother  who  has  been 
deserted  by  the  natural  breadwinner  of  the  family,  or 
of  one  whose  husband  is  in  prison  or  is  incapacitated 
by  illness  from  the  support  of  his  family.  The  most  su- 
perficial consideration  of  this  argument  will  show  that  it 
is  one  of  comparatively  little  weight.  Widows  who  are 
dependent  upon  the  earnings  of  children  from  ten  to 
fourteen  or  sixteen  years  of  age  are  by  no  means  so  large 
an  element  in  the  population  of  any  community  as  the 
constant  reiteration  of  the  dependent  widows  argu- 
ment would  suggest;  in  fact,  the  total  number  of  widows 
in  the  working  population  is  commonly  overestimated. 
Some  widows  are  provided  for  by  insurance,  or  by  the 
helping  hand  of  relatives  and  immediate  friends;  others 
have  older  children,  beyond  the  age  in  which  legal  protec- 
tion is  needed;  others  are  left  unencumbered  by  offspring, 
or  with  a  family  of  such  moderate  size  as  can  be  sup- 
ported by  the  unaided  efforts  of  the  mother.  The  com- 
paratively small  number  who  remain  may,  indeed,  be 
without  a  sufficient  income  from  their  own  wages  and 
from  other  natural  sources ;  but  surely  these  are  not  so 
numerous,  nor  is  the  amount  required  to  supplement  their 
incomes  so  great,  that  it  will  not  be  cheerfully  borne  by 
their  charitably  disposed  neighbors  or  by  philanthropic 
agencies. 

1  In  Massachusetts  the  law  at  present  extends  this  requirement  to  the 
age  of  twenty-one,  with  a  proviso  that  if  they  are  regularly  attending  a 
night  school,  and  over  fourteen  years  of  age,  they  may  be  employed. 


44  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PARTI 

Temporary  charitable  support,  if  the  alternative  becomes 
necessary,  is  better  than  premature  employment.  Regu- 
lar pensions,  given,  if  this  be  preferred,  in  the  form  of 
scholarships  as  a  distinct  reward  for  keeping  children  in 
school,  are  not  demoralizing  if  wisely  administered  and 
if  accompanied  by  uplifting  personal  influences.  It  is 
neither  natural  nor  possible  for  a  widowed  mother  to 
carry  the  double  burden  of  earning  an  income  and  making 
a  home  for  herself  and  her  children  ;  and  under  a  social 
regimen  in  which  the  male  head  of  the  family  is  univer- 
sally the  normal  wage-earner,  it  can  scarcely  be  pauperiz- 
ing to  substitute  for  his  earnings,  when  he  is  removed 
by  death,  a  regular  income  from  some  suitable  charitable 
source.  For  the  children  to  be  set  at  heavy  tasks  before 
the  mind  or  body  is  ready  for  them,  is  very  likely  to  sow 
the  seed  of  disease  and  physical  weakness,  from  which 
dependency  and  eventual  pauperism  may  result.  Even 
the  mother  herself  may  be  injured  by  undertaking  physi- 
cal burdens  beyond  her  capacity  more  readily  than  by 
finding  her  load  lightened  by  the  kindly  consideration  of 
neighbors  and  friends,  or  even,  if  the  former  is  not  suffi- 
cient, by  an  allowance  from  some  suitable  relief  fund. 

The  advocate  of  legislation  for  the  protection  of  chil- 
dren must,  therefore,  be  prepared  to  advocate  for  the  lim- 
ited number  of  families  that  are  necessarily  dependent  upon 
the  earnings  of  children  a  pension  or  scholarship  system 
either  from  public  or  from  private  sources.  Let  the 
responsibility  be  frankly  accepted,  and  let  not  the 
maintenance  of  a  high  standard  of  protection  for  child 
life  be  discouraged  by  exaggerated  fears  of  the  effect  of 
charitable  assistance  as  a  substitute  for  juvenile  earnings. 

There  are  many  who  are  in  danger  of  falling  below  the 
standard  through  sickness,  or  lack  of  normal  physical  de- 
velopment, who  are  rescued  by  means  of  summer  outings, 
playgrounds,  and  healthful  recreations  for  which  the  facili- 
ties are  provided  as  a  part  of  the  relief  system  of  the 
community.  By  increasing  the  physical  vigor  of  growing 
children,  by  providing  a  needed  rest  for  tired  mothers,  and 
by  securing  an  opportunity  for  convalescence,  the  fresh- 
air  agencies  perform  a  most  important  function  in  main- 
taining a  reasonable  standard. 


CHAP,  in  SELF-SUPPORT  LOANS  45 

Another  conclusion  which  may  justly  be  drawn  from 
the  principles  that  have  been  presented  is  that  material 
relief  itself  may  often  be  used  in  such  a  way  as  to  en- 
able the  one  who  receives  it  to  become  independent  of 
relief.  This  is  most  clearly  brought  out  in  the  con- 
trast between  small,  irregular  grants,  made  from  time 
to  time  to  supply  the  bare  necessities,  when  the  appli- 
cant for  relief  has  reached  the  point  of  destitution,  and 
the  loan,  at  one  time,  of  a  considerable  sum  of  money, 
which,  by  enabling  one  to  start  in  business  or  to  con- 
tinue in  a  small  business  already  established,  or  to  fit 
one's  self  for  some  new  vocation,  transfers  the  benefi- 
ciary of  such  loan,  once  for  all,  to  the  ranks  of  the 
self-supporting.  Two  or  three  important  charitable  agen- 
cies conduct,  as  a  regular  part  of  their  activities,  a  spe- 
cial self-support  fund,  from  which  such  advances  are 
made,  as  nearly  as  possible,  on  a  business  basis,  although, 
in  the  absence  of  absolute  security,  there  is  always  the 
risk  that  the  loan  will  not  be  repaid  in  whole  or  even, 
perhaps,  in  part.  The  providing  of  an  artificial  leg,  of 
a  set  of  mechanic's  tools,  of  a  membership  card  in  a 
trade-union,  of  a  uniform,  or  a  waiter's  suit,  sometimes 
enables  the  one  who  obtains  such  assistance  to  secure 
a  position  which  would  otherwise  not  be  open  to  him. 
To  provide  the  fixtures  and  stock  of  goods  necessary  to 
open  a  modest  business  of  some  kind,  may  be  the  best 
and  most  radical  form  of  relief. 

The  degree  of  success  of  this  form  of  material  aid 
is  not  to  be  measured  entirely  by  the  success  of  bor- 
rowers in  returning  the  principal  of  their  loans.  While 
the  maintenance  intact  of  the  original  fund  through 
the  repayment  of  all  loans  would  be  the  ideal,  it  may, 
nevertheless,  be  regarded  as  a  fair  measure  of  success 
if  by  such  means  families  are  made  to  become  inde- 
pendent of  continuous  relief,  who  would  otherwise  be 
in  need  of  it;  and  charitable  loans  should,  in  fact,  be 
restricted  to  those  for  whom  there  is  a  possibility  that 
this  will  be  the  outcome.  Where  there  is  a  certainty 
of  repayment,  even  if  this  certainty  rests  only  upon 
the  personal  character  of  the  borrower,  loans  can  ordi- 
narily be  obtained  on  a  commercial  basis,  and  where 


46  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PARTI 

this  is  possible  there  should  be  no  recourse  to  philan- 
thropy. Loans  from  a  self-support  fund,  the  principal 
of  which  is  advanced  from  philanthropic  motives,  will 
ordinarily  not  foear  interest,  but  some  motive  for  prompt 
repayment  is  nevertheless  desirable,  and  this  may  be  se- 
cured either  by  demanding  a  moderate  rate  of  interest, 
or  by  insisting  upon  an  indorsement  from  some  friend 
of  the  borrower,  for  whom  it  would  be  nearly  or  quite 
as  great  a  hardship  to  pay  the  loan  as  for  the  borrower 
himself. 

In  all  forms  of  relief,  consideration  should  be  given  to 
its  effect  upon  the  standard  of  living  of  the  family  imme- 
diately affected.  In  order  that  relief  may  be  educational, 
it  must  often  include  more  than  bare  necessitieSo  This  is 
true  both  of  care  in  institutions  and  of  home  relief ;  but 
there  is  an  important  distinction.  Relief  in  an  institution 
may  be  more  readily  adjusted  so  as  to  meet  exactly  the  in- 
dividual needs  of  the  inmates.  Relief  for  families  in  their 
homes  must  be  more  varied  in  character  and  in  amount, 
taking  account  of  the  habits  and  customs  of  the  social 
group  to  which  the  family  belongs,  and  enabling  the 
family  to  do  those  things  that  are  regarded  as  essential 
to  self-respect,  and  that  will  win  and  retain  for  them  a 
fair  measure  of  the  regard  of  the  neighborhood. 

We  may  reserve  for  separate  chapters  two  of  the  most 
striking  illustrations  of  the  modern  conception  of  preven- 
tive and  effective  relief,  viz.,  the  elimination  of  disease 
through  the  cooperation  of  the  medical  profession  with 
others  who  are  in  positions  to  contribute  to  that  desirable 
end ;  and  the  movement  for  housing  reform. 


CHAPTER  IV 

THE   ELIMINATION   OF   DISEASE 

THE  prevention  of  disease  has  been  thought  to  be  the 
special  concern  of  the  medical  profession.  This  is,  how- 
ever, no  more  the  case  than  that  the  improvement  of 
housing  conditions  concerns  only  architects,  or  that  the 
improvement  of  morals  is  of  interest  only  to  the  clergy. 
There  is  a  distinct  mutuality  of  interest  between  physicians 
and  those  who  labor  for  the  improvement  of  social  condi- 
tions. The  struggle  which  physicians  and  health  boards 
and  sanitarians  maintain,  with  greater  or  less  success,  to 
reduce  the  death-rate  is,  after  all,  only  one  phase  of  the 
warfare  against  bad  social  conditions.  The  death-rate  is 
only  a  concrete  sign  of  the  existing  state  of  the  conflict 
with  poverty,  injustice,  and  crime  :  with  the  causes  of 
human  misery.  "  Social  salvation,"  remarks  C.  Hanford 
Henderson,  "must  come  about  by  changing  men's  ideas 
and  bodies  and  homes,  not  separately,  but  contempora- 
neously." To  lower  the  death-rate,  involving  as  that 
does,  under  existing  conditions,  the  decrease  of  needless 
suffering,  the  improvement  of  our  physical  bodies,  and 
the  elevation  of  our  ideas,  is,  therefore,  an  integral  part  of 
social  reform,  and  is  an  essential  part  of  any  comprehen- 
sive relief  policy. 

In  the  reduction  of  the  death-rate  the  first  place  is 
given  instinctively  to  the  services  of  the  physician  and  the 
surgeon  in  their  treatment  of  individual  cases,  and  this  is 
as  it  should  be.  The  maintenance  of  a  high  professional 
standard  in  the  practice  of  medicine  is  of  the  utmost  social 
importance.  It  is  not  a  matter  which  concerns  primarily 
the  individual  practitioner.  For  him  the  only  thing  nec- 
essary to  his  reputation  and  his  pecuniary  emoluments  is 
that  he  shall  be  a  little  more  skilful  and  successful  than 

47 


48  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PARTI 

his  fellow-practitioners.  But  for  the  community  as  a 
whole  it  is  the  general  level  of  the  efficiency  and  knowl- 
edge and  skill  of  those  who  are  to  be  intrusted  with  the 
health  and  lives  of  the  people  that  is  of  concern.  Medical 
education,  therefore,  and  laboratory  research  are  properly 
charges  upon  the  community  as  a  whole,  and  although  their 
guidance  necessarily  remains  in  the  hands  of  doctors  of 
medicine,  there  should  be  quick  public  appreciation  of 
every  public-spirited  act  which  makes  the  hospital  of  greater 
utility  for  purposes  of  instruction  and  the  medical  col- 
lege of  increasing  breadth  and  efficiency. 

On  the  other  hand,  physicians  might  take  that  part  of 
the  general  public  which  has  shown  an  interest  in  social 
welfare  increasingly  into  their  confidence,  and  might  wel- 
come more  emphatically  than  heretofore  the  cooperation 
of  the  public  press,  of  charitable  agencies  and  public 
officials,  including  not  only  health  boards,  but  those  who 
from  any  point  of  view  come  into  contact  officially  with 
the  living  conditions  of  the  mass  of  the  people.  Such 
increased  confidence  and  cooperation  might  profitably 
extend  to  clergymen,  to  employers  of  labor,  to  labor  leaders, 
and  to  many  others  whom  we  do  not  think  of  primarily  as 
interested  in  the  problems  of  medical  science,  but  upon 
whose  aid  the  community  must  rely  if  the  conclusions  of 
investigators  and  those  who  practise  medicine  are  to  be 
made  the  basis  of  universal  public  policy. 

A  friend  of  the  author  once  wrote  in  a  personal  letter 
that  in  his  opinion  physicians  are,  on  the  whole,  the  most 
bigoted  body  of  men  that  he  knew,  with  a  single  excep- 
tion. Possibly  the  force  of  this  severe  and  undeserved 
reflection  will  be  somewhat  mitigated  by  the  explanation 
that  he  was  interested  in  the  manufacture  and  sale  of  a 
proprietary  remedy.  But  whatever  basis  there  is  for  the 
charge  that  some  physicians  continue  the  guild  spirit 
in  an  age  to  which  it  is  ill  adapted  should  surely  be  re- 
moved. There  are  everywhere  indications  that  the  air  of 
mystery  surrounding  the  treatment  of  disease  is  clearing 
away,  that  the  individual  patient  is  frankly  told  much 
more  than  formerly  of  the  nature  of  his  disease,  of  the  rea- 
son for  this  and  that  course  of  treatment. 

There  may  still  be  justification  for  innocent  temporary 


CHAP,  iv          THE   PHYSICIAN  IN   SOCIAL   REFORM  49 

deception  and  for  professional  reserve,  but  it  certainly  is 
true  that  the  general  tendency  among  physicians  whose 
standing  and  practice  are  most  assured  is  to  speak  frankly, 
to  assume  a  modicum  of  common  sense  and  general  intelli- 
gence on  the  part  of  patients  who  show  these  qualities  in 
other  relations  of  life,  and  to  rely  for  public  respect  upon 
their  real  skill  in  diagnosis,  their  acquired  judgment  as 
to  treatment  and  remedies,  and  their  familiarity  with  the 
literature  and  with  the  unrecorded  professional  experience 
which  together  place,  of  course,  an  impassable  gulf  between 
the  competent  physician  and  his  best  generally  informed 
patient. 

A  similar  change  may  be  expected  in  the  attitude  of  the 
profession  toward  other  groups  of  workers  whose  social 
aims  are  similar  to  the  aims  of  public-spirited  physicians 
who  wish  to  reduce  the  death-rate  and  to  lessen  human 
suffering.  There  are  many  things  which  might  be  done 
by  others  than  physicians  if  these  others  could  be  confident 
that  in  doing  them  they  are  moving  in  the  right  direction ; 
if  physicians  would  offer  them  the  necessary  direction, 
encouragement,  and  support;  if  their  personal  relations 
with  physicans  were  sufficiently  intimate  to  permit  the 
correction  of  errors  before  they  had  become  serious  and 
before  the  workers  in  question  had  done  something  inad- 
vertently to  invite  ridicule  or  contempt. 

The  county  and  state  medical  organizations  afford,  in 
part,  the  machinery  through  which  such  increased  coopera- 
tion might  be  secured.  These  organizations  have  rendered 
excellent  service  of  a  negative  kind  to  the  community  in 
preventing  loose  and  unsafe  legislation,  and  have  also 
participated  in  positive  movements  for  social  betterment. 
It  may  be  that  the  trade-union  element,  the  mutual  bene- 
fit element,  the  class-interest  element,  or  whatever  that 
element  should  be  called  which  socialists  are  trying  to 
develop  among  workingmen,  and  which  is  so  conspicuous 
a  feature  of  Wall  Street,  has  been  present  also  in  these 
organizations.  There  is  no  special  occasion  for  criticism 
if  that  is  the  case,  and  yet  the  ideal  undoubtedly  calls  for 
the  organization  of  the  professions  primarily  not  for  self- 
protection,  but  in  order  that  through  such  organization 
more  effective  cooperation  with  the  best  social  tendencies 


50  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PARTI 

may  be  possible.  It  is  a  question  only  of  the  point  of 
view.  The  test  of  whether  it  is  worth  while  to  belong  to 
an  organization  is  not  what  it  contributes  to  one's  income, 
but  the  extent  to  which  it  increases  one's  power  for  use- 
ful service  to  mankind. 

The  Rockefeller  Institute  in  New  York  and  the  Chicago 
Institute  for  the  Study  of  Infectious  Diseases  are  made 
possible  by  special  endowment.  Both  of  them  will  natu- 
rally find  useful  materials  in  the  experiences  of  the  chari- 
table institutions,  the  settlements,  the  hospitals,  and  certain 
of  the  city  and  state  departments ;  and  will  in  turn  con- 
tribute materials  for  the  more  fruitful  prosecution  of  the 
work  of  these  agencies.  Those  who  favor  a  democratic 
organization  of  society,  and  who  like  to  see  workers  get 
the  maximum  satisfaction  from  their  daily  work,  might 
conceivably  long  for  the  time  when  special  endowment  or 
subsidies  for  such  purpose  would  not  be  necessary;  when 
each  physician  who  has  the  capacity  for  research  and  the 
taste  for  it  might  afford  to  devote  some  time  to  it ;  and 
when  such  special  labors  as  require  the  prolonged  and 
continuous  attention  of  the  investigator  might  still  in 
some  way  result  from  the  mutual  sacrifices  of  the  medical 
profession  itself. 

Those  who  are  engaged  in  the  relief  of  distress,  unless 
they  are  mere  automata,  are  inevitably  led  on  to  the 
consideration  of  preventive  measures.  Among  all  the 
causes  of  undeserved  destitution,  sickness  is  the  most  con- 
spicuous. It  is  certainly  most  unsatisfactory  to  be  taking 
part  in  the  relief  of  families  who  are  in  distress  because  of 
illness,  and  at  the  same  time  to  realize  that  forces  are  at 
work  and  conditions  are  present  which  are  undermining 
the  health  of  others,  and  leading  inevitably  to  the  situation 
in  which  relief  will  be  required.  The  personal  indignation 
which  is  aroused  by  the  neglect  of  such  forces  and  con- 
ditions would  be  a  valuable  ally  in  securing  the  changes 
which  physicians  well  know  to  be  essential.  The  social 
force  which  might  easily  be  developed  among  charitable 
visitors,  professional  and  volunteer,  among  clergymen  and 
church  visitors,  among  trade-unionists  and  social  reformers, 
can  scarcely  be  exaggerated. 

One  of   the  diseases  whose   insidious  and  evil  effects 


CHAP,  iv     SICKNESS   AS  A   CAUSE   OF  DEPENDENCE  61 

are  most  frequently  encountered  by  those  who  are  called 
upon  to  inquire  why  a  family  cannot  be  self-supporting 
is  malaria.  It  not  only  increases  the  hardship  of  wage- 
earners,  causing  irregularity  of  work  and  reducing  physical 
energy,  but  it  makes  precisely  the  difference  between  self- 
support  and  dependence  for  many  of  those  who  are  already 
near  this  dreaded  border  line.  It  attacks  adults  as  well  as 
children,  and  its  full  effects  upon  the  economic  position  of 
the  family  may  not  be  obvious  until  many  years  after  the 
fever  has  been  acquired.  Is  it  not  then  important,  if  we 
would  lessen  the  burden  of  poverty  and  the  need  for 
charitable  relief,  to  do  everything  that  science  has  demon- 
strated that  it  is  possible  to  do  to  lessen  the  number  of  its 
victims?  If  it  is  true,  to  quote  Dr.  Howard's  language, 
that  perfectly  satisfactory  proof  has  been  gained  during 
the  past  few  years  that  mosquitoes  "are  responsible  for 
the  transmission  of  the  malarial  germ  from  the  malarial 
patient  to  healthy  people," l  is  it  not  incumbent  upon  us  to 
utilize  to  the  full  every  influence  that  will  compel  the 
adoption  of  the  remedy  which  is  thus  indicated,  viz.,  the 
extermination  of  the  mosquito  ?  Is  not  the  time  already 
longer  than  should  have  elapsed  between  the  demon- 
stration and  the  public  policies  which  are  its  logical  result  ? 
Should  we  not  attack  malaria  in  every  community  in 
precisely  the  spirit  in  which  the  military  governor  of  Cuba 
acted  upon  the  results  of  the  experiments  and  demon- 
strations at  Havana  ?  The  conquest  of  yellow  fever  as  a 
result  of  demonstrations  made  at  Columbia  Barracks  near 
Havana,  in  1900-1901,  that  the  disease  is  communicated 
through  the  medium  of  a  certain  species  of  mosquito,  is 
one  of  the  most  brilliant  achievements  of  medical  science. 
The  United  States  military  government,  during  its  brief 
existence  in  Cuba,  not  only  freed  the  island  of  yellow 
fever,  but  also  made  great  strides  in  the  control  of  malaria 
and  of  tuberculosis.  At  the  time  of  a  visit  by  the  author, 
in  1902,  there  were  to  be  seen  two  interesting,  tangible 
indications  of  these  changes.  In  a  corner  of  one  of  the 
general  hospital  wards  there  was  a  small  enclosure  the 
walls  of  which  were  wire  screens.  It  was  separated  only 

1  "  Mosquitoes :  How  they  Live ;  How  they  carry  Disease ;  How  they  are 
Classified  ;  How  they  may  be  Destroyed,"  L.  0.  Howard. 


52  PRINCIPLES   OF   BELIEF  PART  i 

in  this  way  from  the  remainder  of  the  ward.  In  this 
room  it  was  the  practice  to  isolate  any  patients  suspected 
of  yellow  fever.  No  mosquito  could  get  into  it,  or  if  by 
any  chance  one  did,  it  was  not  allowed  to  get  out  alive  ; 
and  this  was  all  the  protection  that  was  deemed  necessary  ; 
whereas  but  a  few  weeks  before  isolation  was  accomplished 
by  removal  to  a  distant  building  across  a  ravine  with 
many  attending  inconveniences  and  hardships.  The 
change  in  the  attitude  toward  malaria  was  illustrated  by 
two  large  wards  standing  side  by  side,  one  built  a  year 
later  than  the  other.  Both  were  some  three  feet  above  the 
ground.  Beneath  the  one  built  first,  when  malaria  was 
supposed  to  arise  as  an  exhalation  from  the  damp  ground, 
there  was  a  concrete  floor  which  cost  the  government  12000. 
The  theory  was  that  this  would  keep  the  malaria  down 
and  incidentally  would  permit  a  more  complete  disinfection 
after  the  flushing  of  the  floor  of  the  ward.  Beneath  the 
second  ward  there  was  the  natural  gravel  which  cost 
nothing.  It  is  needless  to  say  that  the  recoveries  were  as 
numerous  in  the  one  ward  as  in  the  other,  and  that  cases 
of  malaria  did  not  develop  in  either. 

Under  a  military  government,  action  may  instantly 
follow  scientific  discovery.  All  that  is  necessary  is  that 
there  shall  be  an  intelligent  chief  and  efficient  subordi- 
nates; but  in  a  republic  appropriate  action  on  the  part 
of  health  boards,'  state  or  local,  and  on  the  part  of  physi- 
cians themselves,  is  likely  to  be  taken  only  when  there  is 
cooperation  on  the  part  of  other  leaders  of  public  opinion. 
The  treatment  of  disease,  and  especially  sanitary  measures 
for  the  prevention  of  disease,  must  be  discussed  elsewhere 
than  in  medical  journals  and  at  the  meetings  of  medical 
societies.  Physicians  and  investigators,  as  soon  as  the 
demonstration  is  complete,  must  be  ready  to  take  steps  to 
create  public  opinion,  and  then  must  summon  as  allies  in 
the  new  crusade  all  those  who  come  into  contact  with 
disease,  distress,  and  bad  social  conditions  from  other 
standpoints  than  that  of  the  medical  profession.  It  is 
generally  understood  that  physicians  must  be  leaders,  but 
they  cannot  lead  effectively  unless  they  are  in  constant 
and  intimate  relations  with  all  these  other  groups — relations 
which  must  be  established  gradually,  and  which  should  be 


CHAP,  iv          THE   PREVENTION  OF   TUBERCULOSIS  53 

a  constant  asset  immediately  available  when  new  situations 
of  this  kind  arise. 

Defective  eyesight,  decayed  teeth,  an  imperfect  carriage, 
are,  from  a  social  point  of  view,  not  merely  causes  of 
individual  suffering  and  occasions  for  the  exercise  of  pro- 
fessional skill.  They  are  also  causes  of  poverty;  causes  of 
irregular  employment ;  causes  of  undue  restriction  in  the 
field  of  possible  industrial  opportunity  ;  causes  which  may 
lead  to  physical  deterioration  in  offspring.  Such  defects 
as  these  can  be  remedied,  if  the  public  sentiment  of  the 
community  is  alert  to  remedy  them.  Knowledge  which 
individual  parents  may  scarcely  be  expected  to  possess 
exists,  nevertheless,  in  the  community,  and  should  find 
expression  through  the  health  board,  through  the  school 
board,  or  through  some  other  recognized  agency.  It  may 
indeed  be  that  the  remedy  would  be  found  to  lie  chiefly 
in  the  education  of  parents  and  in  the  education  of  future 
generations;  but  whether  thus  indirectly  or  by  more  direct 
means,  the  prevention  of  disease,  for  which  the  combined 
efforts  of  physicians  and  of  others  are  requisite,  remains  a 
fundamental  and  a  most  neglected  public  duty. 

The  most  striking  illustration  is  a  movement  which 
has  but  recently  been  inaugurated,  but  which  is  making 
rapid  headway,  and  will  for  some  time  to  come  give  the 
greatest  scope  for  effective  cooperation.  This  is  the 
concerted  movement  for  the  prevention  of  tuberculosis. 
There  has  been  a  rapid  transition  in  the  public  mind  from 
submissive  despair  to  eager  hopefulness,  from  pessimism 
to  impatient  demand  for  fruits  of  the  new  knowledge 
which  has  been  gained.  There  has  been  a  slow  dawning 
of  public  conviction  that  if,  as  physicians  say,  tuberculosis 
is  curable,  it  must  be  cured  oftener  ;  that  if,  as  bacteriolo- 
gists have  demonstrated,  it  is  preventable,  it  must  be  pre- 
vented ;  that  if  it  is  communicable,  then  there  is  a  moral 
responsibility  to  stay  the  infectious  plague.  The  problem 
is  how  to  utilize  for  the  good  of  mankind  the  knowledge 
that  we  have  ;  how  to  extend  that  knowledge  where  it  will 
have  potent  influence  in  the  prevention  of  needless  disease 
and  death  ;  how  to  bridge  over  the  gap  between  what  is 
written  in  medical  books  and  what  is  written  in  the  sunken 
cheeks  of  the  consumptives,  of  whom  one  may  easily  see  a 


54  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PARTI 

thousand  or  more  in  a  single  day  if  he  will  merely  visit  the 
hospitals  of  the  city  of  New  York,  where  less  than  one  in 
twenty  of  the  entire  number  is  to  be  found.  Personal 
interest  in  this  subject  does  not  often  need  to  rest  upon  an 
altruistic  basis.  Nearly  every  family  has  lost  a  member  or 
close  friend,  or  looks  forward  with  apprehension  to  an  im- 
pending loss.  It  is  this  catholic  impartiality  that  makes 
almost  inevitable  a  concerted  movement  against  the  dis- 
ease; yet  the  impartiality  is  not  complete,  for  consumption 
feeds  upon  overcrowding  and  alcoholism  and  nndernutri- 
tion,  so  that  again  it  is  found  that  from  him  that  hath  not 
is  taken  away  even  that  which  he  hath,  and  that  the 
destruction  of  the  poor  is  their  poverty. 

The  lines  upon  which  cooperation  appears  to  be  pos- 
sible at  the  present  time  between  the  medical  profession 
and  agencies  for  social  betterment  are  at  least  four :  — 

I.  The    promulgation    through    personal    interviews, 
through  public  lectures,  through  leaflets,  through  news- 
papers and  the  periodical  press,  through  clubs  and  classes, 
through  the  schools  and  colleges,  and  through  every  other 
practicable  channel  of  public  education,  of  the  idea  that 
the  consumptive  must  properly  care  for  his  sputum  ;   that 
tuberculosis  should  be  recognized  and  treated  at  the  earli- 
est possible  moment ;  that  nutritious  and  suitable  food  is 
essential,  and  that  the  physical  presence  of  a  consumptive 
who  is  intelligent  and  conscientious  is  not  necessarily  dan- 
gerous to  others. 

II.  The  opening  of   numerous  and  not  too  populous 
houses  of  rest  for  advanced  cases  —  where  there  shall  be 
every  attempt  to  make  easier  the  closing  hours  of  life,  to 
detect  and  help  any  hopeful  case,  to  provide  for  outdoor 
exercise   and  indoor  recreation,   to  permit  occasional  or 
even  frequent  visits  from  friends  under  proper  precau- 
tions, and  in  general  to  create  those  conditions  of  cheer- 
fulness and  physical  comfort  that  will  lead  patients  readily 
to  enter  and  to  remain  whenever  the  conditions  in  the  pa- 
tient's home  are  such  as  do  not  permit  him  to  remain  there 
with  comfort  and  safety.   They  may  properly  be  maintained 
either  by  local  taxation  or  by  private  benevolence,  and 
they  should  be  numerous  enough  to  make  long  journeys  un- 
necessary and  to  remove  all  inducement  to  overcrowding. 


CHAP,  iv  FOUR  LINES   OF   COOPERATION  55 

These  houses  of  rest  may  profitably  be  supplemented  by 
endowments  or  by  generous  private  gifts  for  individual 
patients  to  show  how  much  can  be  done  in  even  apparently 
hopeless  cases  if  ideal  conditions  are  attained.  The  in- 
terests of  humanity  and  of  science  alike  require  numerous 
experiments  even  with  advanced  cases  to  see  whether  at 
least  some  of  the  more  distressing  features  cannot  be  still 
further  mitigated. 

III.  The  erection  of  well-equipped  sanatoria  for  the 
treatment  of  lung  diseases,  favorably  situated  as  to  climate, 
as  to  altitude,  as  to  remoteness  from  congested  populations, 
as  to  scenery,  and  in  all  other  respects,  in  order  that  no 
known  condition  favorable  to  recovery  shall  be  absent  if  it 
is  feasible  to  secure  it.  In  these  hospitals  there  should  be 
ample,  even  lavish,  provision  for  the  essentials  of  treatment. 
There  should  be  no  hesitation  to  provide  everything  in 
the  way  of  grounds,  and  buildings,  and  maintenance  ;  and 
above  all  there  should  be  no  parsimony  as  to  professional 
services  and  no  lack  of  opportunity  for  laboratory  research 
and  experiment. 

To  the  charge  that  this  would  be  the  creation  of  a  favored 
class  of  public  dependents,  it  is  to  be  replied  that  these 
things  are  not  done  solely  for  the  sake  of  the  particular 
patients  who  may  be  cared  for,  but  for  the  sake  of  the 
entire  people.  We  are  in  the  midst  of  a  desperate  warfare; 
and  just  as  we  would  give  every  protection  to  a  garrison 
that  was  battling  for  the  homes  and  lives  of  all,  so  we 
would  concentrate  here,  upon  the  human  bodies  that  are 
struggling  with  the  bacillus  which  is  our  common  enemy, 
every  element  of  strength  that  will  enable  them  to  resist 
the  disease.  Every  patient  saved,  or  even  taught  simple 
hygienic  precautions,  is  multiplied  into  a  regiment  for 
the  further  conquest  of  new  fields.  If  we  could  at  one 
stroke  cure  all  our  consumptives,  it  would  undoubtedly 
be  a  boon  to  that  particular  body  of  people ;  but  their 
gain  would  be  insignificant  indeed  when  compared  with 
the  great  gain  which  would  accrue  to  those  who  are  now 
sound  and  well,  and  to  generations  still  unborn,  in  the 
removal  of  the  disease  which  we  must  still  class  as  the 
"captain  of  the  men  of  death." 

Liberal  appropriations,  therefore,  to  enable  us  finally  to 


56  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

make  headway  against  tuberculosis,  are  preeminently  jus- 
tified in  the  extraordinary  position  in  which  we  are  just 
now  placed.  It  is  no  more  of  a  scourge  than  formerly.  The 
difference  is  that  we  know  more  about  it ;  and  there  is 
added  reproach  in  every  year  in  which  that  knowledge  re- 
mains merely  a  means  of  hardship  to  the  consumptive  poor, 
through  increasing  their  difficulties  in  finding  and  keep- 
ing employment  and  in  moving  from  place  to  place,  and 
does  not  show  itself  in  the  conquest  of  the  plague. 

Whether  these  more  expensive  and  elaborate  hospitals 
for  treatable  cases  should  be  built  and  conducted  by  the 
state,  or  by  the  local  municipalities  or  by  private  means, 
is  a  question  which  may  be  decided  differently  in  different 
communities.  In  New  York,  where  the  state  tax  at  the 
time  of  the  present  writing  has  passed  the  vanishing  point 
and  become  a  fiction,  while  local  taxation  is  a  heavy  bur- 
den, the  policy  which  has  been  adopted  of  at  least  one 
state  hospital  in  the  Adirondacks  seems  clearly  justified, 
and  it  is  doubtful  whether  better  results  would  not  be  ob- 
tained if  the  plan  of  county  support  of  individual  patients 
were  entirely  abandoned.  Similar  hospitals  erected  and 
endowed  by  private  philanthropy,  making  special  provi- 
sion for  those  who  can  afford  to  pay  small  sums  for  main- 
tenance, would  admirably  supplement  this  action  of  the  state. 

IV.  Besides  the  educational  propaganda,  the  houses  of 
rest,  the  hospitals  for  incipient  cases  of  tuberculosis,  or,  as 
it  is  better  to  say,  for  lung  diseases  or  for  diseases  of  the 
throat  and  lungs,  there  is  indicated  still  a  fourth  line  of 
action.  We  need  far  more  knowledge  than  is  at  present 
available  as  to  the  relation  between  overcrowding  and 
tuberculosis,  not  only  in  living  and  sleeping  rooms,  but  in 
business  offices,  printing  establishments,  and  similar  places 
of  employment;  as  to  the  relation  between  occupations 
and  the  disease ;  as  to  the  extent  to  which  the  disease  is 
really  what  the  Germans  call  it,  a  house  disease;  espe- 
cially as  to  the  infection  of  the  cheaper  tenements  — 
where,  of  course,  the  most  advanced  cases  among  the  poor 
gravitate,  since  with  the  duration  of  illness  they  naturally 
move  into  cheaper  and  cheaper  rooms  as  wages  are  reduced 
and  finally  cut  off  entirely,  and  as  savings  are  then  grad- 
ually exhausted. 


CHAP,  iv  SOCIAL  ASPECTS   OF   THE   DISEASE  57 

That  there  is  frequently  direct  infection  in  business 
offices,  even  where  salaries  are  high,  hardly  admits  of 
question.  That  in  the  cities  there  are  many  rooms 
in  basements,  where  the  direct  sunlight  never  enters, 
where  ventilating  systems,  if  they  are  provided,  are  apt  not 
to  be  in  working  order,  or  at  least  not  to  be  working,  and 
where  employees  are  in  too  close  contact,  is  also  suscep- 
tible of  easy  demonstration.  But  these  things  need  to  be 
made  matters  of  record,  and  a  basis  established,  first,  for 
voluntary  reform  by  proprietors  and  managers  of  these 
offices,  who  are  often  merely  ignorant  or  thoughtless ;  and 
then,  so  far  as  the  evil  is  not  remedied  voluntarily,  for 
restrictive  legislation  by  health  boards  or  by  local  or  state 
legislative  bodies.  It  may  be  also  that  the  erection  of 
high  office  buildings  will  be  found  to  have  some  direct 
bearing  upon  the  prevalence  of  tuberculosis.  The  primary 
task  will  be  an  inquiry  as  to  the  number  of  persons  whose 
usual  supply  of  light  and  air  in  working  hours  does  not 
reach  a  carefully  determined  minimum,  and  as  to  the 
existing  safeguards  against  direct  infection. 

When  plans  were  submitted  in  a  large  city  recently 
for  new  public  bath-houses,  many  were  quick  to  express 
surprise  that  they  were  to  be  only  one  story  in  height 
to  permit  use  of  skylights.  That  the  architect  and  the 
charity  expert  who  had  planned  them  had  been  deter- 
mined above  all  to  be  sure  that  bathers  should  be 
amply  supplied  with  air  and  sunlight,  as  well  as  with 
water,  is  a  cause  for  congratulation,  and  that  the  wonder 
of  the  aldermen  and  others  who  objected  to  the  plans 
is  typical  of  uneducated  public  sentiment  in  general  is 
equally  cause  for  regret. 

We  need  also  far  more  experience  and  knowledge  than 
we  now  have  as  to  the  wisdom  of  aiding  individual  patients 
to  remove  to  a  more  favorable  climate,  and  as  to  the  means 
of  supporting  them  at  a  distance  from  their  homes.  The 
ethics  of  aided  transportation  of  consumptives  are  still 
rather  crude  and  undeveloped,  and  the  complementary 
ethics  and  public  policy  of  restricting  immigration  and 
interstate  migration  of  consumptives  also  need  further 
elucidation.  This  fourth  suggestion  is,  therefore,  that 
there  is  need  of  investigation  of  certain  social  aspects  of 


58  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

the  disease,  in  which  there  is  fully  as  much  opportunity 
for  cooperation  between  the  medical  profession  and  lay 
societies  and  individuals  interested  in  the  social  welfare  as 
in  other  lines  that  have  been  indicated. 

In  New  York  City,  in  the  light  of  the  extraordinary 
success  of  the  Tenement-House  Committee  of  the  Charity 
Organization  Society  in  its  movement  for  tenement-house 
reform,  it  was  in  1902  decided  to  inaugurate  a  committee 
on  the  prevention  of  tuberculosis  in  the  same  society  in 
which  there  should  be  ample  representation  of  physicians, 
of  men  of  business  experience,  and  of  men  and  women 
who  were  identified  with  other  movements  for  social 
reform,  thus  affording  that  combination  of  scientific  knowl- 
edge, of  medical  experience,  of  business  efficiency,  and  of 
social  enthusiasm  that  will  permit  some  real  contribution 
to  the  application  of  our  existing  knowledge  to  our  recog- 
nized existing  evils.  This  committee  has  been  energeti- 
cally and  successfully  at  work.1  In  Chicago,  Boston,  Wash- 
ington, Buffalo,  and  St.  Louis  similar  plans  have  been 
inaugurated,  and  other  cities  are  taking  steps  to  crystallize 
public  sentiment  on  the  subject.2 

There  is  another  field  in  which  the  next  step  in  reform 
appears  to  await  an  impetus  from  outside  the  medical 
profession.  The  practice  of  midwifery  is  virtually  with- 
out regulation,  except  in  five  or  six  states,  chiefly  for 
the  reason  that  physicians  are  reluctant  to  assume  any 
responsibility  for  it,  and  have  apparently  cherished  the 
hope  that  it  would  either  die  out  altogether  from  natural 
causes  or  that  public  sentiment  would  eventually  call  for 
legislative  prohibition. 

In  a  period  of  six  years,  from  1891  to  1896  inclusive, 
there  appears  to  have  been  in  New  York  City  a  slight  de- 
crease, probably  about  3  per  cent,  in  the  number  of  cases 
attended  by  midwives.  It  is  known,  however,  that  many 
cases  are  not  reported.  It  has  been  estimated  again  that 

1  The  first  annual  report  of  this  committee,  published  in  1908,  is 
expanded  into  a  "Handbook  on  the  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis,"  388  pages, 
with  important  contributions  on  many  aspects  of  the  subject,  including  a 
valuable  statistical  study,  by  Lilian  Brandt,  of  such  social  phases  of  the 
disease  as  are  referred  to  in  the  preceding  paragraphs. 

2  There  has  also  been  organized  a  National  Association  for  the  Study 
and  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis,  with  headquarters  in  New  York  City. 


CHAP,  iv  REGULATION  OF  MIDWIFERY  69 

in  1898  midwives  attended  45  per  cent  of  the  births 
reported ;  that  in  1900  the  percentage  increased  to  49, 
while  by  1903  it  fell  again  to  45  per  cent.  Whichever  of 
the  two  periods  may  afford  the  more  accurate  indication 
of  present  tendencies,  it  would  appear  that  the  midwife,  in 
New  York  City,  at  least,  is  being  only  very  slowly,  if  at 
all,  displaced  by  the  physician.  It  is  possible  that  the 
proportion  of  midwifery  cases  is  merely  kept  up  by  the 
inflow  of  immigration.  In  confirmation  of  this  view  is 
the  fact  that  a  very  large  proportion  of  the  cases  occurring 
in  the  families  known  to  the  United  Hebrew  Charities  are 
now  treated  by  the  physicians  of  a  free  lying-in  hospital, 
whereas  only  seven  years  ago  nearly  all  were  attended  by 
midwives. 

That  the  midwives  are  in  large  part  totally  ignorant  of 
aseptic  treatment,  that  many  cases  result  fatally  because 
of  their  lack  of  knowledge  and  skill,  and  that  a  very  much 
larger  number  of  women  suffer  more  or  less  permanent  injury 
from  such  defects,  is  generally  believed.  Whether  the 
remedy  lies  in  a  prohibition  of  midwifery ;  in  an  increase 
in  the  amount  of  free  treatment  provided  by  charitable 
institutions;  in  an  increase  in  the  number  of  women 
physicians  ;  in  the  official  regulation  and  licensing  of  mid- 
wifery ;  or  in  the  laissez-faire  policy  of  the  present,  is  a 
problem  in  which  social  considerations  are  quite  as  im- 
portant as  those  which  are  of  direct  professional  impor- 
tance to  physicians. 

Assuming  that  the  number  of  deaths  from  puerperal 
fever  is  a  trustworthy  index  of  the  comparative  efficiency 
of  physicians  and  midwives,  the  author  caused  an  investi- 
gation to  be  made  as  to  who  was  responsible  for  the  treat- 
ment in  each  of  the  46  deaths  from  this  cause  in  the  first 
three  months  of  1902  in  Manhattan  Borough,  New  York  City. 
It  was  surprising  to  find  that  in  21  of  these  cases  the  pa- 
tient was  under  the  exclusive  charge  of  a  physician,  while 
in  21  cases,  an  exactly  equal  number,  the  patient  was  origi- 
nally attended  by  a  midwife,  although  in  most  of  the 
latter  cases  a  physician  was  called  after  the  fever  had 
developed.  Eighteen  of  these  46  patients  died  in  hospitals, 
all  of  these  having  been  treated  outside  by  physicians  and 
removed  to  the  hospital  shortly  before  death.  In  two 


60  PRINCIPLES  OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

cases  it  was  probable  that  abortion  had  been  produced  by 
unknown  persons.  In  four  cases  the  physician  believed 
that  infection  was  due  .to  the  nurse  employed  by  the 
patient,  who  was  ignorant  or  did  not  observe  instructions. 
In  two  cases  physicians  had  reported  that  midwives  had 
been  employed  where  investigation  showed  the  statement 
to  have  been  incorrect.  It  is  probable  that  the  official 
records  at  the  department  of  health  do  not  show  all  deaths 
from  puerperal  fever,  since  the  opinion  has  been  freely 
expressed  that  there  are  cases  in  which  death  occurs  from 
this  cause,  but  is  reported  to  have  occurred  from  some 
other  cause.  These  statistics,  although  the  period  may  be 
too  brief  to  justify  any  generalization,  point  toward  the 
conclusion  that  infection  resulting  in  death  occurs  as  fre- 
quently in  the  practice  of  physicians  as  in  that  of  mid- 
wives,  and  they  point  also  toward  the  conclusion  that  the 
regulation  of  midwifery  and  the  licensing  of  such  as  have 
shown  their  competence  would  probably  lessen  or  eliminate 
the  existing  evils  resulting  from  their  practice.  If  so,  the 
fact  that  the  use  of  the  midwife  is  a  long  established 
custom  among  immigrants  of  several  nationalities,  the 
lower  expense  and  the  widespread  preference  for  employ- 
ing the  services  of  women  in  this  capacity  would  become 
decisive  in  deciding  what  legislation  should  be  enacted.1 

Other  illustrations  of  the  advantage  to  society  from 
such  cooperation  as  has  been  described  lie  at  hand  if  they 
are  needed.  Twice  in  as  many  years  the  physicians 
of  New  York  joined  with  the  reformers,  the  charity 
workers,  the  clergymen,  the  public  press,  and  a  host  of 
good  citizens  to  defend  the  charitable  institutions  of  the 
state  from  what  they  believed  to  be  vicious  political  attack, 
and  the  acquaintance  and  common  experience  gained  in 
those  controversies  proved  to  be  of  great  service  in  later, 
more  agreeable  tasks.  Physicians  in  public  offices,  not 
only  in  health  and  sanitary  departments,  but  in  such  allied 
branches  of  the  public  service  as  street  cleaning,  in 
administrative  positions  connected  with  charitable  and 
correctional  work,  in  public  education  and  in  legislative 
bodies,  give  everywhere  evidence  of  the  value  of  medical 

1  "  Obstetrics  in  the  Tenements,"  Ralph  Folks,  Charities,  Vol.  IX, 
p.  429. 


CHAP,  iv     THE   SOCIAL  VALUE   OF   PRIVATE   PRACTICE        61 

i — — 

training  and  experience  as  a  preparation  for  such  service. 
As  leaders  of  public  opinion,  through  the  medical  journals, 
through  the  transactions  of  learned  societies,  through 
public  addresses,  through  letters  to  the  newspapers,  and 
especially  through  personal  contact  with  men  and  women 
who  have  the  special  genius  and  the  peculiar  qualities  that 
fit  them  to  act  as  leaders,  physicians  count  for  more  than 
at  any  previous  epoch. 

In  the  emphasis  which  has  been  placed  upon  the  value 
of  this  social  service  and  the  need  for  increasing  it,  there 
is  no  disposition  to  underestimate  the  social  importance 
of  the  ordinary  daily  routine  of  a  physician's  private  prac- 
tice. Philanthropists  who  give  universities,  libraries,  and 
hospitals,  thereby  do  much  to  promote  social  welfare,  as  do 
other  business  men  by  introducing  a  higher  standard  into 
their  relations  with  their  own  employees.  And  yet  if  we 
had  to  choose  between  such  occasional  and  incidental  acts 
of  altruism,  and  the  contributions  to  human  progress  made 
by  these  same  "  captains  of  industry  "  in  the  daily  conduct 
of  their  various  enterprises,  we  would  scarcely  hesitate  to 
choose  the  latter.  It  is  preeminently  so  of  the  medical 
profession.  The  legitimate  call  of  public  duty  will  never 
make  such  demands  upon  individuals,  and  will  never  be 
addressed  to  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  profession  as  to 
obscure  the  call  of  the  individual  who,  whether  for  pay  or 
merely  in  the  extremity  of  his  need,  demands  attention. 
The  plea  for  increased  cooperation  confidently  assumes 
that  there  will  result  from  it  not  less  but  greater  useful- 
ness to  the  individual  patient. 

Improved  sanitation,  pure  air  in  living  and  sleeping 
rooms,  simple  and  nutritious  food,  and  appropriate  dress, 
abstinence  from  the  use  of  alcohol  and  harmful  drugs,  and, 
in  the  cities,  multiplication  of  small  parks  and  playgrounds 
in  the  crowded  districts,  are  chief  among  the  means  for  the 
prevention  of  disease ;  and  the  authoritative  argument  for 
these  things  must  come  from  the  physician.  In  the  wide- 
spread movement  for  housing  reform,  to  which  we  shall 
recur  in  the  next  chapter,  physicians  have  taken  an  active 
part.  The  intimate  relation  between  improved  housing 
and  the  prevention  of  disease  is  obvious. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE  HOUSING  PEOBLEM 

THE  problem  of  rent  takes  precedence  in  the  minds  of 
those  who  live  in  the  tenement-houses  of  great  cities  over 
the  problems  of  food  and  clothing.  It  is  a  striking  coinci- 
dence that  it  is  also  with  reference  to  shelter  that  the 
conception  of  a  normal  standard  of  living  has  been  most 
clearly  attained.  Among  the  three  primary  essentials  to 
life,  it  is  in  the  character  of  the  dwelling  to  be  occupied 
that  the  importance  of  maintaining  a  minimum  standard 
has  been  most  clearly  recognized,  and  in  fact  has  already 
become  a  function  of  government.  The  principle  may  be 
said  to  have  been  established  that  it  is  a  duty  of  society 
to  make  it  impossible  for  any  of  its  members  to  live  in 
houses  below  a  minimum  standard  prescribed  by  law.  It 
is  not  alone  the  vital  importance  of  insuring  normal  hous- 
ing conditions  that  has  brought  about  this  recognition, 
for  it  may  be  that  a  normal  supply  of  normally  nutritious 
food  is  equally  important.  The  possibility  of  securing 
necessary  food  and  clothing  depends  chiefly  on  the  efforts 
of  the  individual  consumer,  while  housing  conditions  are 
only  in  a  very  limited  degree  under  his  control.  For  this 
reason  the  maintenance  of  a  standard  of  shelter  is  more 
readily  accepted  as  a  duty  of  government.  Another  cir- 
cumstance which  has  favored  the  early  establishment 
of  this  principle  is  that  the  factors  which  make  up  a  nor- 
mal standard  for  dwellings  are  susceptible  of  enumeration, 
of  exact  definition,  and  of  quantitative  measurement.  In 
regard  to  food,  legislation  can  hardly  do  more  than  pro- 
tect the  consumer  against  adulteration  and  fraud.  It 
cannot  prescribe  the  amount  or  the  quality  of  the  daily 
rations  of  the  community.  To  determine  a  legal  minimum 
standard  of  clothing  would  be  still  more  difficult.  Sump- 

62 


CHAP,  v  THE   EVILS  TO   BE   REMEDIED  63 

tuary  laws  have  not  attempted  to  do  more  than  to  prevent 
excess  in  the  direction  of  individual  indulgences.1 

It  is  comparatively  simple,  on  the  other  hand,  to  regulate 
the  construction  of  dwellings  so  as  to  secure  an  irreducible 
minimum  of  light  and  air,  a  certain  degree  of  decency  in 
the  provision  for  sanitary  requirements,  and  safeguards 
against  fire  and  other  dangers.  It  is  easy,  also,  to  make 
laws  in  regard  to  overcrowding,  although  the  practical 
problem  of  enforcing  such  laws  has  yet,  in  the  main,  to  be 
solved.  This  idea,  now  so  widely  accepted,  of  maintain- 
ing a  normal  standard  in  housing  conditions,  has  not  been 
evolved  by  a  process  of  abstract  reasoning.  It  has  been 
forced  upon  us  by  the  intensity  of  the  evils  which  result 
from  the  unchecked  operation  of  the  laissez-faire  principle. 
Those  evils  are  found  in  their  most  acute  development  in 
cities  in  which  there  is  a  rapidly  increasing  population 
within  a  naturally  limited  territory.  The  most  conspicu- 
ous example  is  the  borough  of  Manhattan  in  New  York 
City ;  but  similar  conditions  have  produced  similar  effects 
in  other  cities,  of  which  Edinburgh,  Scotland,  and  San 
Juan,  Porto  Rico,  may  be  cited  as  examples.  Referring 
to  the  conditions  in  New  York  City,  at  the  time  of  its 
report,  the  Tenement-House  Commission  of  1900  says :  — 

"  The  most  serious  evils  may  be  grouped  as  follows  :  — 

"1.  Insufficiency  of  light  and  air,  due  to  narrow 
courts  or  air-shafts,  undue  height,  and  to  the  occupation 
by  this  building  or  by  adjacent  buildings  of  too  great  a 
proportion  of  lot  area. 

"  2.    Danger  from  fire. 

"  3.  Lack  of  separate  water-closets  and  washing  facili- 
ties. 

"  4.    Overcrowding. 

"  5.  Foul  cellars  and  courts,  and  other  like  evils,  which 
may  be  classed  as  bad  housekeeping.  .  .  . 

"  The  tenement  districts  of  New  York  are  places  in 
which  thousands  of  people  are  living  in  the  smallest  space 

1  In  the  seventeenth  century,  the  Massachusetts  General  Court  forbade 
the  use  of  tobacco  publicly  or  privately  before  strangers,  and  the  purchase 
of  "  any  appell,  either  wollen,  silke,  or  lynnen,  with  any  lace  on  it,  silver, 
golde,  silke,  or  thread."  "Economic  and  Social  History  of  New  England," 
Weeden,  Vol.  I,  p.  226.  Other  colonies  had  similar  statutes. 


64  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

in  which  it  is  possible  for  human  beings  to  exist — crowded 
together  in  dark,  ill-ventilated  rooms,  in  many  of  which 
the  sunlight  never  enters,  and  in  most  of  which  fresh  air 
is  unknown.  They  are  centres  of  disease,  poverty,  vice, 
and  crime,  where  it  is  a  marvel,  not  that  some  children 
grow  up  to  be  thieves,  drunkards,  and  prostitutes,  but  that 
so  many  should  ever  grow  up  to  be  decent  and  self-respect- 
ing. All  the  conditions  which  surround  childhood,  youth, 
and  womanhood  in  New  York's  crowded  tenement  quar- 
ters make  for  unrighteousness.  They  also  make  for  dis- 
ease. There  is  hardly  a  tenement-house  in  which  there 
has  not  been  at  least  one  case  of  pulmonary  tuberculosis 
within  the  last  five  years,  and  in  some  houses  there  have 
been  as  great  a  number  as  twenty-two  cases  of  this  terri- 
ble disease.  From  the  tenements  there  comes  a  stream  of 
sick,  helpless  people  to  our  hospitals  and  dispensaries,  few 
of  whom  are  able  to  afford  the  luxury  of  a  private  physi- 
cian, and  some  houses  are  in  such  bad  sanitary  condition 
that  few  people  can  be  seriously  ill  in  them  and  get  well; 
from  them  also  comes  a  host  of  paupers  and  charity 
seekers.  The  most  terrible  of  all  the  features  of  tene- 
ment-house life  in  New  York,  however,  is  the  indiscrimi- 
nate herding  of  all  kinds  of  people  in  close  contact ;  the 
fact  that,  mingled  with  the  drunken,  the  dissolute,  the 
improvident,  the  diseased,  dwell  the  great  mass  of  the  re- 
spectable workingmen  of  the  city  with  their  families." 

The  conditions  in  Buffalo  present  a  marked  contrast 
to  those  of  New  York  City,  as  thus  described.  Quoting 
from  the  Special  Report  on  Housing  Conditions  in  Buffalo, 
prepared  by  two  Buffalo  members  of  the  Tenement-House 
Commission,  we  learn  that  "the  tenement-house  evil  in 
Buffalo  is  practically  confined  to  two  districts  —  the  one 
inhabited  principally  by  Italians,  .  .  .  the  other  inhab- 
ited by  Poles.  .  .  . 

"  It  would  seem,"  says  the  report,  "  that  there  is  no 
necessity  whatever  of  the  existence  of  the  tenement-house 
system.  There  is  plenty  of  room  for  houses  of  moderate 
height,  easily  accessible  from  all  parts  of  the  city  by  the 
present  means  of  transportation,  and  there  is  room  for  very 
much  larger  growth  under  the  same  conditions.  It  seems 
possible,  therefore,  by  the  enforcement  of  sufficiently 


CHAP,  v  TENEMENT-HOUSE   LAW  OF   1900  66 

strict  regulations,  to  exterminate  gradually  the  evil  as  it 
exists,  and  to  prevent  its  development  in  the  future. 
These  are  the  lines  upon  which  the  enactment  of  law 
should  proceed,  and  if  the  time  is  to  come  when  more  un- 
favorable housing  conditions  must  prevail,  then  the  evil 
day  should  be  postponed  as  long  as  possible." 

The  law  drawn  by  the  Commission  to  remedy  these  evils 
was. enacted  by  the  Legislature,  and  there  was  created  in 
the  city  of  New  York  a  distinct  Tenement-House  Depart- 
ment intrusted  with  the  enforcement  of  its  provisions. 
The  first  commissioner  of  this  unique  department  was 
Robert  W.  de  Forest,  who  had  been  chairman  of  the  Com- 
mission which  made  the  report  and  drafted  the  proposed 
law,  and  the  first  deputy  commissioner  was  Lawrence 
Veiller,  who  had  been  secretary  of  the  Commission,  and 
secretary  also  of  the  Tenement-House  Committee  of  the 
Charity  Organization  Society.  It  was  this  committee 
which,  in  December,  1898,  initiated  the  movement  which 
within  a  brief  period  of  three  years  had  culminated  in 
the  sweeping  victory  for  tenement-house  reform  in  the 
city  where  housing  conditions  were  recognized  as  worse 
than  elsewhere  in  the  civilized  world.  The  new  law  tene- 
ments afford  the  greatest  possible  contrast  with  those  of 
the  dumb-bell  type,  which  were  erected  with  great  rapid- 
ity up  to  July  1, 1900,  when  the  new  law  became  operative. 
The  foul  "  air-shaft "  of  the  old  law  buildings  immediately 
gave  place,  so  far  as  new  buildings  were  concerned,  to  a 
large,  well-ventilated  court,  and  no  house  built  under  the 
new  law  may  contain  any  room  that  is  not  adequately 
lighted  and  ventilated.  In  the  dumb-bell  tenements  ten 
rooms  out  of  each  fourteen  were  usually  almost  totally 
dark  and  without  ventilation,  but  under  the  steady  pressure 
of  competition,  immediately  created  by  the  new  and  the 
more  desirable  houses;  the  demands  of  business, resulting  in 
the  replacing  of  some  of  the  worst  of  the  old  buildings  by 
warehouses,  factories,  arid  shops ;  and  the  operation  of  the 
new  law,  there  has  already  come  about  a  great  transfor- 
mation in  those  housing  conditions  which  have  so  long 
been  the  despair  of  all  who  knew  them,  and  which  are  so 
effectively  described  in  the  report  from  which  paragraphs 
have  been  quoted. 


66  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PARTI 

The  Tenement-House  Department,  under  the  judicious 
and  efficient  administration  of  those  who  had  done  most  to 
bring  about  the  enactment  of  the  new  law,  has  instantly 
been  recognized  as  an  embodiment  of  the  idea  that  the 
social  welfare  of  the  great  body  of  the  working  people  is 
the  legitimate  object  of  state  and  municipal  concern.  The 
Tenement-House  Department,  although  a  new  departure 
in  many  respects,  fell  heir  to  certain  duties  which  had  pre- 
viously devolved  upon  the  other  departments.  So  far  as 
the  interior  of  the  houses  in  Avhich  the  bulk  of  the  people 
live  is  concerned,  it  virtually  is  the  Health  Department. 
Sanitary  inspection,  the  correction  of  unsanitary  condi- 
tions, and  the  vacating  of  buildings  unsuitable  for  human 
habitation  devolve  upon  it.  It  brings  about  the  improve- 
ments in  housing  conditions  from  which  result  less  sick- 
ness and  a  lower  death-rate  and  greater  decency,  and  a 
nearer  approach  in  many  ways  to  rational  family  arid  home 
life. 

It  was  fortunate  that  the  introduction  of  the  new  law 
coincided  with  the  introduction  of  an  efficient  adminis- 
tration. Imperfect  as  the  old  laws  had  been,  it  was  found 
by  the  investigation  of  1900  that  practically  every  new 
house  constructed  was  built  to  a  great  extent  in  disregard 
of  those  provisions.  The  violation  of  existing  tenement- 
house  laws  was  one  of  the  most  flagrant  abuses  discovered, 
although  even  if  they  had  been  built  as  the  law  directed 
they  would  have  fallen  far  short  of  a  reasonable  standard. 
It  is  said  that  every  new  tenement-house  built  under  the 
jurisdiction  of  the  Tenement-House  Department,  has 
been  made  to  conform  with  the  requirements  of  the  law 
in  every  detail.  New  buildings  are  inspected  at  stated 
intervals,  and  if  any  important  defect  is  found,  it  is  im- 
mediately remedied  or  work  on  the  building  is  stopped  by 
the  Department.  The  law  contains  a  provision  that  no 
tenement-house  shall  be  occupied  for  habitation  until  a 
certificate  is  granted  by  the  Tenement-House  Department 
that  it  has  been  built  according  to  law  in  every  respect. 
Aside  from  this  inspection  of  new  buildings  the  Tenement- 
House  Department,  under  the  new  law,  systematically 
inspects  occupied  tenement-houses,  whether  old  or  new, 
and  a  system  has  been  introduced  by  which  frequently 


CHAP,  v  ENFORCEMENT  OF  THE   LAW  67 

recurring  violations  of  law  cause  a  house  to  be  classed  as 
a  neglected  house,  resulting  in  a  special  inspection  and  a 
prosecution  of  the  owner,  or  an  order  that  the  building  shall 
be  vacated  until  satisfactory  evidence  has  been  given  that 
the  defects  which  have  led  to  the  action  will  be  remedied. 
By  the  power  to  vacate  a  tenement-house  the  Department 
has  been  enabled  to  remedy  defects  far  more  effectively 
than  by  the  procedure  of  tearing  down  a  house  as  unfit 
for  human  habitation,  since  the  property  loss  involved  by 
this  process  and  the  inherent  legal  difficulties  are  so  great 
that  for  practical  purposes  the  power  might  almost  as  well 
not  exist.  Under  the  special  provisions  of  the  law  prosti- 
tution was  successfully  driven  out  of  the  tenements,  the 
effective  remedy  in  this  instance  being  a  provision  that 
the  house  itself  becomes  subject  to  a  penalty  of  $1000  if 
after  receiving  notice  from  the  Tenement-House  Depart- 
ment that  prostitution  is  being  carried  on,  the  tenant  is 
not  ejected  within  a  period  of  five  days. 

Although  it  is  true  that,  "in  America,  there  are  few 
cities  to-day,  outside  of  New  York,  where  there  exists  a 
tenement-house  problem,  and  few  where  there  exists  even 
an  acute  housing  problem," 1  it  is  also  true  that  in  many  of 
the  smaller  cities  of  the  country  there  is  material  for  the 
development  of  serious  evils. 

It  is  significant  that  the  thirty-seven  cities  in  the 
United  States  with  a  population  between  50,000  and 
100,000  had,  in  1900,  a  death-rate  very  little  below  that  of 
the  six  cities  of  500,000  inhabitants  and  over.  The  death- 
rate  for  consumption,  the  "house  disease,"  is  even  closer, 
being  21.9  per  10,000  population,  compared  with  22.3  for 
the  largest  cities.  Both  the  death-rate  from  consumption 
and  the  general  death-rate  are  actually  greater  in  these 
smaller  cities  than  in  the  cities  which  have  from  100,000 
to  500,000  inhabitants.2  Evidently  the  small  city  is  not 

1  ' « Tenement-House  Problem, ' '  Vol.  I,  p.  131 .     The  New  York  Commis- 
sion found  the  germs  of  a  tenement-house  problem  in  Boston,  Pittsburg, 
Cincinnati,  Jersey  City,  and  Hartford,  and  bad  housing  conditions  in  other 
cities.    As  a  result  of  the  agitation  begun  in  New  York  City  in  1900,  in- 
vestigations have  been  made  in  many  other  cities,  and  important  legisla- 
tion has  been  enacted  in  several  states. 

2  "  Handbook  on  the  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis,"  p.  75.     Published  by 
the  Charity  Organization  Society,  of  New  York  City,  1903. 


68  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

without  its  grave  sanitary  problems,  some  of  which,  such 
as  drainage  and  water  supply,  are  closely  connected  with 
housing,  and  evidence  is  not  wanting  that  there  exist  evils 
similar  in  kind,  though  not  in  extent,  to  those  found  in 
Manhattan  "  dumb-bells  "  or  "  barracks." 

Four  cities  of  the  second  class  in  New  York  State  are 
Rochester,  Syracuse,  Albany,  and  Troy,  each  with  a  popu- 
lation of  more  than  50,000. l  In  a  visit  made  to  these 
cities  by  the  author  in  the  year  following  the  report  of  the 
Tenement-House  Commission,2  it  was  found  that  in  only 
one  of  them  was  there  any  system  of  sanitary  inspection, 
except  the  investigation  of  complaints  voluntarily  made 
by  tenants  and  other  citizens,  although  in  each  case  the 
representative  of  the  health  bureau  who  was  interviewed 
expressed  the  opinion  that  systematic  inspection  of  the 
entire  city  at  regular  intervals  would  be  desirable. 

In  these  cities  and  in  others  like  them  throughout  the 
country  protection  from  infection  and  from  unsanitary 
conditions  which  sap  vitality,  retard  recovery  from  disease, 
and  increase  the  liability  of  contagion,  is  the  greatest  unrec- 
ognized need — unrecognized,  since  there  is  no  adequate 
recognition  of  the  need  nor  adequate  provision  for  meet- 
ing it.  It  is  not  amiss,  therefore,  to  emphasize  a  demand 
for  regular,  systematic,  responsible  sanitary  inspection  by 
local  boards  of  health,  including  not  only  the  investigation 
of  complaints,  but  the  independent  discovery  of  things  to 
be  remedied.  It  is  absurd  to  leave  such  discovery  to  ten- 
ants, who  may  be  ignorant,  or  to  neighbors,  who  may  be 
timid  and  indifferent.  Inspection  should  be  educational 
in  character,  including  definite  oral  advice,  and  possibly 
even  the  incidental  distribution  of  suitable  leaflets. 

Early  restrictive  legislation  should  be  enacted  to  make 
impossible  the  reckless  exploitation  of  life  and  physical 
vigor  induced  by  the  possibility  of  overcrowding  any 
given  acre  of  ground,  if  it  happens  to  be  favorably  situ- 
ated with  reference  to  opportunities  for  employment. 

1  In  1900  Rochester  had  a  population  of  162,608  ;  Syracuse,  108,374  ; 
Albany,  94,151  ;  Troy,  60,651. 

2  The  results  of  the  observations  made  in  this  visit  were  embodied  in  a 
report  submitted  to  the  second  New  York  State  Conference  of  Charities 
and  Correction. 


CHAP,  v  LEGISLATION  FOR   SMALLER   CITIES  69 

The  law  must  say  definitely :  so  much  space  must  be 
left  absolutely  free  for  the  circulation  of  air ;  so  much 
protection  from  fire  must  be  given ;  so  much  of  light  in 
the  public  hallways;  so  much  of  decency  in  toilet  and 
bath.  This  is  the  irreducible  minimum  fixed  by  the  sov- 
ereign state  as  a  condition  to  which  all  houses  that  are  to 
be  used  as  dwellings  must  conform.  Such  regulation  is 
riot  interference  with  the  laws  of  competition.  It  is  but 
fixing  the  plane  above  which  legitimate  competition  may 
run  its  course. 

There  should  be  either  a  state  law  or  local  city  ordi- 
nances covering  the  evils  most  likely  to  occur.  Such  law 
or  ordinances  might,  for  example,  definitely  prescribe  the 
height  to  which  buildings  not  built  with  elevators  may  be 
raised ;  the  extent  to  vvhich  houses  must  be  fireproof ; 
the  amount  of  space  upon  the  building  lot  which  must 
be  left  unoccupied,  and  the  minimum  cubic  contents  of 
each  room.  This  list  is  by  no  means  exhaustive,  but  it 
indicates  the  kind  of  subjects  upon  which  legislation 
might  suitably  begin. 

The  housing  problem  is  unique  in  certain  respects.  It 
is  not  strictly  analogous,  for  example,  to  the  relief  prob- 
lem involved  in  the  supply  of  food  and  other  necessities 
to  those  who  are  of  deficient  wage-earning  capacity. 
There  is  in  each  case  the  recognition  of  a  normal  stand- 
ard, but  the  method  of  enforcing  it  is  necessarily  different. 
In  the  one  case  the  deficiency  may  be  made  good  from 
charitable  sources ;  in  the  other,  it  can  be  made  good  only 
by  seeing  that  the  buildings  are  properly  constructed  in 
the  first  instance,  or  reconstructed,  if  they  are  unfit  for 
use  as  they  are.  Action  by  the  state  is,  therefore,  neces- 
sary in  connection  with  the  housing  problem  to  supple- 
ment charitable  relief,  which  may,  indeed,  be  called  upon 
when  there  is  not  income  enough  to  pay  the  rental  of  an 
appropriate  dwelling.  As  in  the  case  of  ordinary  charita- 
ble relief,  and  as  in  the  case  of  hospitals,  the  controlling 
consideration  is  that  a  decision  must  be  made  as  to  what 
is  a  reasonable  standard,  and  we  must  then  stick  to  it, 
accepting  the  consequences,  however  burdensome.  The 
puerile  cry  that  tuberculosis  cannot  be  eradicated  because 
it  would  cost  a  large  sum  of  money  to  accomplish  that 


70  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  i 

result,  must  be  calmly  disregarded  ;  that  relief  cannot 
be  supplied  on  a  comprehensive  and  adequate  scale,  be- 
cause relief  funds  may  lead  to  pauperization,  cannot  be 
granted;  that  the  housing  problem  is  beyond  solution, 
because  for  the  state  to  prescribe  the  conditions  under 
which  houses  may  be  erected  and  occupied  is  an  interfer- 
ence with  the  ordinary  laws  of  trade,  is  an  argument  not 
worthy  of  serious  consideration.  Normal  living  condi- 
tions require  a  minimum  standard  of  housing  accommo- 
dations, a  reasonable  chance  for  recovery  from  sickness, 
and  a  supply  of  the  material  necessities  of  life  —  not  be- 
cause these  are  necessarily  the  most  important  things  in 
life,  but  because  they  are  an  essential  physical  basis  for 
rational  living. 

Legislation  and  inspection  are  not  the  whole  of  im- 
proved housing.  It  is  effected  also  by  improved  trans- 
portation facilities,  by  certain  other  centrifugal  tendencies 
in  modern  life,  such  as  the  distribution  of  power  through 
the  electric  current,1  and  by  the  erection  of  model  tene- 
ments, whether  on  a  business  or  on  a  philanthropic  basis. 
Every  really  model  dwelling  which  is  a  profitable  invest- 
ment certainly  raises  the  standard  of  neighboring  dwell- 
ings, creating  new  demands  on  the  part  of  tenants,  and 
reassuring  doubtful  owners  as  to  what  it  is  commercially 
possible  for  them  to  do. 

Every  improvement  in  the  standard  of  housekeeping  by 
which  foul  cellars  and  courts  are  cleaned  not  only  adds  to 
the  comfort  of  particular  tenants  directly  concerned  but 
exerts  an  influence  in  raising  the  standard  of  all  compet- 
ing dwellings.  The  training  of  janitors  and  housekeepers, 
voluntary  association  among  themselves  for  mutual  im- 
provement, and  the  exaction  of  a  higher  standard  of  effi- 
ciency and  of  greater  responsibility  for  the  conditions  in 
the  houses  under  their  care,  appear  to  be  probable  devel- 
opments of  the  near  future. 

Educational  propaganda,  official  inspection,  and  reason- 
able legislative  enactment  to  prevent  the  development  of 

1  When  water  power  or  steam  is  used  for  direct  power  it  is  natural  that 
factories  and  residences  should  be  grouped  in  great  towns  and  cities.  The 
easy  transmission  of  power  in  the  form  of  electricity  permits  a  wider 
distribution  of  mills  and  of  homes. 


CHAP,  v     PLACE   OF   RELIEF   IN  THE   HOUSING  PROBLEM    71 

bad  conditions  are,  therefore,  the  threefold  means  of  main- 
taining a  normal  standard.  So  far  as  the  responsibility 
for  preventing  the  worst  evils  of  unsanitary  housing  has 
been  assumed  by  the  government,  it  has  been  removed 
from  the  scope  of  ordinary  relief  agencies.  There  remains, 
even  in  communities  which  have  gone  farthest  in  admin- 
istrative control,  a  field  of  activity  for  private  charity. 
The  element  of  adequacy  in  the  normal  standard  of  shelter 
cannot  be  absolutely  and  uniformly  secured  by  legislation. 
It  has  been  suggested  that  three  rooms  may  be  assumed  to 
be  the  normal  minimum  for  a  family  of  five.  If  this  be 
the  correct  standard,  it  is  then  the  part  of  relief  agencies 
to  see  to  it  that  the  families  under  their  care  are  not 
encouraged  or  allowed  to  be  overcrowded  according  to 
this  standard.  The  desirability  of  economic  independence 
must  not  be  so  exaggerated  as  to  obscure  the  importance  ^ 
of  securing  adequate  shelter.  If,  for  example,  a  family  of  A[ 
five,  living  in  three  rooms,  could  become  self-supporting 
by  taking  in  a  lodger,  it  may  well  be  better  that  the  defi- 
ciency in  the  income  should  be  supplied  than  that  the 
lowering  of  the  housing  standard  should  be  permitted. 
The  question  must  be  considered,  also,  when  it  is  proposed 
to  place  with  collateral  relatives  a  child  or  old  person 
whose  home  has  been  broken  up.  It  is  important  to 
know,  before  deciding  on  such  arrangement,  whether  or 
not  the  addition  of  one  member  to  the  family  will  mean, 
for  all,  overcrowding,  according  to  the  accepted  minimum. 
Another  temptation  to  countenance  in  individual  cases  a 
housing  standard  below  the  normal  is  met  by  relief  socie- 
ties when  a  housekeeper  is  paid  by  free  rent  of  basement 
rooms,  which  may  be  fairly  good  as  basements  go,  but  are 
nevertheless  inadequately  lighted,  damp,  and  'otherwise 
undesirable  to  live  in.  Clearly  it  is  essential  in  such  a 
case  not  only  to  give  no  encouragement  to  the  objection- 
able plan,  but  to  see  that  the  family  is  enabled,  by  whatever 
means  may  be  required,  to  move  into  proper  rooms,  or  at 
least  to  move  out  of  the  cellar. 

In  cities  which  have  not  yet  definitely  provided  for  a 
certain  standard  in  construction,  the  responsibility  devolv- 
ing on  relief  agencies  is  even  heavier.  Nothing  then  can 
be  taken  for  granted,  and  it  is  necessary  to  be  on  the  alert 


72  PRINCIPLES  OF   RELIEF  PARTI 

for  evils  which,  in  other  cities,  are  provided  against  by 
law.  It  will  require  more  ingenuity  to  correct  the  evils 
when  they  are  discovered  if  there  is  no  explicit  statute, 
but,  with  the  cooperation  of  local  health  authorities,  a 
way  can  usually  be  found. 

Among  the  more  recent  and  authoritative  sources  of  information 
on  this  subject  are  the  comprehensive  work,  in  two  volumes,  entitled 
"  The  Tenement-House  Problem,"  edited  by  Kobert  W.  de  Forest  and 
Lawrence  Veiller,  in  which  is  embodied  the  report  of  the  New  York 
Tenement-House  Commission  of  1900  ;  and  the  report,  also  in  two  vol- 
umes, of  the  operations,  for  the  first  eighteen  months  of  its  existence, 
of  the  Tenement-House  Department,  created  in  accordance  with  the 
recommendations  of  the  Commission  above  named.  With  these  may 
be  studied  to  advantage  the  report  of  the  City  Homes  Association  of 
Chicago  on  "Tenement  Conditions  in  Chicago  for  1901,"  edited  by 
Robert  Hunter ;  the  successive  annual  reports  of  the  Octavia  Hill  Asso- 
ciation of  Philadelphia,  and  the  report  of  the  New  Jersey  Tene- 
ment-House Commission  of  1904 ;  report  on  "  Housing  Conditions  in 
Cleveland,"  by  the  Housing  Problem  Committee  of  the  Cleveland 
Chamber  of  Commerce ;  "  Housing  Conditions  in  Jersey  City,"  by 
Mary  B.  Sayles,  published  in  the  Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of 
Political  and  Social  Science;  "Housing  of  the  Working  Classes  in 
Yonkers,"  Ernest  Ludlow  Bogart ;  "  The  Slums  of  Great  Cities," 
E.  R.  L.  Gould,  Seventh  Special  Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor ; 
"  Housing  of  the  Working  People,"  E.  R.  L.  Gould,  Eighth  Special 
Report  of  the  Commissioner  of  Labor  ;  "  The  Social  Evil,"  Report  of 
the  Committee  of  Fifteen,  New  York  ;  "  How  the  Other  Half  Lives," 
by  Jacob  A.  Riis. 


CHAPTER   VI 

THE   BELIEF   OF    FAMILIES   AT   HOME 

HAVING  completed  our  survey  of  those  relief  policies 
which  affect  more  or  less  directly  all  classes  of  the  com- 
munity, we  may  now  turn  to  more  distinctively  charitable 
tasks.     Among  these  we  are  to  distinguish  on  the  one    \ 
hand  the  relief  of  the  poor  in  their  homes,  and  on  the  / 
other,  the  care  of  children  and  of  dependent  adults  who  do 
not  remain  in  their  homes. 

Those  who,  not  being  aged  or  disabled  by  illness  or  by 
any  such  complete  mental  infirmity  as  would  make  insti- 
tutional care  essential,  still  require  help  at  their  own 
homes,  constitute  the  most  complex  and  diversified  class. 
In  statistics  of  public  relief,  they  are  often  distinguished 
from  almshouse  inmates  as  being  in  receipt  of  "partial 
support."  An  inference  naturally  drawn  from  this  classi- 
fication of  paupers  as  those  who  are  receiving  "  full  sup- 
port "  and  those  who  are  receiving  "  partial  support,"  has 
been  of  great  comfort  to  advocates  of  public  outdoor  relief, 
since  nothing  appears  more  plausible  than  that  it  is  cheaper 
for  a  community  to  give  partial  than  to  give  full  support. 
Those  who  hold  that  relief  in  the  homes  of  the  poor  should 
not  be  supplied  from  public  funds,  or  that  it  should  be 
reduced  to  a  minimum,  contend,  on  the  other  hand,  that 
full  support  is  the  more  economical,  since  the  number  of 
beneficiaries  is  universally  less  when  only  full  support  is 
offered.  It  is  obvious  that  many  persons  would  accept 
aid  from  the  public  treasury  if  allowed  to  remain  at  home, 
who  would  not  wish  to  become  inmates  of  a  public  insti- 
tution, even  though  the  amount  of  aid  which  they  receive 
at  home  is  less  than  the  cost  of  their  maintenance  in  the 
almshouse. 

Almsgiving  to  street  beggars,  or  to  those  who  apply  at 
the  door,  is  another  method  —  however  reprehensible  — 

73 


74  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PARTI 

of  giving  aid  to  applicants  in  their  homes.  The  homes 
which  such  mendicants  may  claim  are,  indeed,  likely  to  be 
low-class  boarding-houses,  casual  shelters,  or  other  make- 
shifts as  devoid  as  possible  of  all  the  elements  of  a  normal 
home.  Since,  however,  money  is  given  outright,  and  no 
attempt  is  made  to  control  the  action  of  its  recipients,  it 
must  be  classed,  like  that  distributed  by  public  officials, 
with  aid  given  to  the  poor  in  their  homes. 

Vastly  more  important  than  either  of  the  above,  whether 
greater  or  less  in  actual  amount,  is  the  relief  distributed 
by  clergymen,  deacons,  and  others  who  represent  the 
churches  in  their  care  of  the  poor ;  and  voluntary  associ- 
ations, founded  either  for  the  purpose  of  caring  generally 
for  the  poor  or  for  the  care  of  some  particular  class,  such  as 
widows  with  young  children,  or  working  upon  a  basis  of 
nationality  or  a  community  bond,  as,  for  example,  in  New 
York  City,  the  St.  George's  Society  and  the  New  England 
Society,  both  of  which,  although  social  rather  than  elee- 
mosynary, have  nevertheless  created  relief  funds  for  the 
aid,  respectively,  of  destitute  Englishmen  stranded  in  the 
community,  or  destitute  persons  of  New  England  origin. 

Doubtless  it  would  be  found  that  the  aid  given  by  pri- 
vate individuals  to  those  who  appeal  to  them  personally,  if 
any  tabulation  of  such  aid  were  possible,  is  even  greater 
in  amount  and  of  even  greater  significance  in  its  social 
aspects  than  what  is  disbursed  by  such  organized  charities 
as  have  been  just  mentioned.  When  we  speak  of  relief 
given  to  the  dependent  poor  in  their  homes,  it  will  be 
understood,  then,  that  we  include  what  is  given  in  this 
way  by  individuals,  by  relief  agencies,  by  churches,  and  by 
public  officials  charged  with  the  relief  of  destitution. 

Certain  broad  differences  are  clear  between  relief  in  the 
homes  of  the  dependent  and  relief  given  in  institutions, 
or  in  any  other  manner.  The  normal  family,  which  is  the 
unit  of  society,  depends  for  the  means  of  livelihood  upon 
the  exertions  of  one  or  more  of  its  own  members.  It  is 
self-contained  —  independent  of  outsiders.  Its  domestic 
circle  is  sacred.  The  standard  of  living  may  be  high  or 
low.  The  income  may  be  liberal  or  the  necessities  of  life 
barely  supplied.  Between  the  family  which  is  thus  self- 
dependent  and  that  of  the  true  pauper  there  is  a  most 


• 


CHAP,  vi  WHEN  TO   HELP  AT  HOME  76 

striking  contrast.  The  pauper  type,  whether  in  receipt 
of  beggarly  alms  or  of  generous  income,  is  a  shameless  and 
insolvent  social  debtor. 

The  self-dependent  and  the  pauper  classes  do  not, 
however,  together  constitute  the  whole  of  human  society. 
There  are  some  whose  earning  capacity,  when  exerted  to 
the  utmost,  does  not  suffice  for  the  means  of  livelihood ; 
there  are  some  who  are  temporarily  disabled  and  have 
been  unable  to  provide  in  advance  for  such  a  calamity. 
While  many  of  these  are  isolated  individuals,  for  whom 
institutional  care  of  some  kind  may  be  advisable,  there  are 
others  who  are  grouped  in  families  and  for  whom  the 
essential  elements  of  normal  family  life,  aside  from  finan- 
cial income,  remain  or  may  be  Supplied.  It  is  a  task  of 
the  greatest  difficulty  arid  delicacy  to  distinguish  such 
cases,  and  a  great  responsibility  is  assumed  by  those  who 
undertake  to  supply  the  relief  which  will  enable  family 
life  to  be  continued,  when  this  must  be  done  otherwise 
than  by  the  normal  earnings  of  its  members.  It  is  true 
that  in  particular  instances  an  equal  responsibility  may  be 
involved  in  a  refusal  to  supply  such  relief,  with  the  con- 
sequent breaking  up  of  the  family.  In  other  words,  the 
responsibility  of  those  who  are  in  position  to  aid  and  to 
whom  a  direct  appeal  has  been  made,  can  be  met  only  by 
reaching  a  sound  conclusion  as  to  whether  or  not  the  con- 
ditions are  such  as  to  call  for  relief  at  home. 

It  is  for  this  reason,  primarily,  that  official  relief  from 
the  public  treasury  and  ordinary  almsgiving  are  unwise 
and  harmful.  The  conditions  under  which  alms  are  given 
to  passers-by,  and  the  conditions  under  which  public  relief 
is  disbursed,  are  universally  unfavorable  to  any  adequate 
consideration,  on  the  part  of  the  giver,  of  the  following 
questions :  first,  whether  the  home  conditions  are  such  as 
can  safely  be  perpetuated  through  relief ;  second,  exactly 
what  kind  and  amount  of  relief  are  required ;  and  third, 
whether  there  are  natural  sources,  other  than  the  one  to 
whom  the  appeal  has  been  made,  from  which  any  needed 
relief  should  be  supplied.  It  may  justly  be  questioned, 
also,  whether  churches  are  in  position  to  give  dispassionate 
answers  to  these  questions,  except  as  relating  to  their  own 
members.  One  of  the  chief  concerns  of  the  church  organi- 


76  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  i 

zation  as  such  is  to  hold  the  allegiance  of  those  already 
affiliated  with  it,  and  to  secure  the  adhesion  of  others.  It 
is  only  in  rare  instances  that  a  relief  system  under  the 
control  of  the  church  or  auxiliary  to  it  can  be  carried 
on  with  efficiency  and  success.  There  is  no  reason  to 
expect  that  strict  observance  of  correct  principles  of  relief 
will  invariably  promote  the  religious  objects  recognized 
by  the  churches,  or  that  church  membership  can  be  in- 
creased or  maintained,  under  existing  conditions  of  sec- 
tarian divisions,  by  a  legitimate  use  of  relief  funds. 

If,  then,  public  relief  funds,  indiscriminate  almsgiving, 
and  relief  by  churches  should  eventually  be  discontinued, 
the  particular  task  of  supplying  relief  to  dependent  fami- 
lies in  their  homes  will  fall  upon  private  individuals  and 
such  voluntary  associations  as  may  be  formed  with  this 
end  in  view  ;  —  and  private  charity,  individual  or  associ- 
ated, is  precisely  the  best  reliance  for  such  relief.  In  so 
far  as  it  is  organized,  it  should  be  unsectarian  ;  it  should 
not  be  subsidized  from  the  public  treasury,  but  should  be 
spontaneous,  voluntary,  and  of  a  broad,  catholic  spirit, 
even  if  some  place  is  allowed  for  patriotic  or  religious 
motives  in  its  form  of  organization. 

If  a  society  were  to  be  organized  in  a  community  in 
which  there  is  no  general  relief  society,  and  it  were  ex- 
pected that  it  would  undertake  only  this  particular  task, 
it  might  well  take  some  simple  descriptive  name  such  as 
the  Society  for  the  Relief  of  Distress,1  or  the  Provident 
Relief  Fund.2  General  relief  has  in  fact  been  undertaken 
by  societies  which  differ  widely  both  in  their  names  and 
in  their  methods ;  and  if  there  is  no  society  for  organizing 
charity  or  for  promoting  social  reform,  it  will  usually  be 
more  advisable  to  found  a  society  with  broad  scope  which 
will  undertake  among  other  things  either  to  supply  relief 
as  one  of  its  corporate  functions,  or  to  obtain  relief  from 
private  individuals  or  from  miscellaneous  relief  sources,  if 
it  is  deemed  that  these  are  sufficient  for  the  purpose.  It 

1  A  society  under  this  name,  commonly  known  as  the  S.  R.  D.,  exists  in 
London  and  works  in  cooperation  with  the  Charity  Organization  Society. 

2  This  is  the  name  of  a  fund  from  which  temporary  relief  is  supplied  to 
families  found  upon  investigation  by  the  Charity  Organization  Society  of 
the  city  of  New  York  to  be  in  need. 


CHAP,  vi  FORM  OF  ORGANIZATION  77 

is  now  not  uncommon  for  the  charity  organization  society, 
the  associated  charities,  the  bureau  of  charities,  the  asso- 
ciation for  improving  the  condition  of  the  poor,  or  the 
provident  association  to  undertake  itself  directly  to  give 
relief  and  also  to  promote  cooperation  among  charitable 
agencies  and  individuals,  and  to  work  for  such  changes  in 
the  laws  and  in  their  administration  as  to  ameliorate  the 
condition  of  the  poor.1 

There  is  scarcely  any  city  with  a  population  of  ten 
thousand  in  which  there  are  not  the  beginnings  of  some 
society  which  with  more  or  less  modification  of  plans  and 
methods  might  readily  occupy  this  position.  It  is  essen- 
tial that  each  city  should  build  upon  its  own  historical 
foundation.  It  is  also  desirable  that  there  should  be  such 
a  degree  of  uniformity  in  various  cities  as  will  lead  to  easy 
communication  and  comparison  of  results.  These  two 
ends  will  be  found  not  to  be  incompatible  if  they  are 
both  kept  in  view.  The  danger  is  that  one  or  the  other 
will  be  completely  disregarded.  A  newcomer  who  hap- 
pens to  be  familiar  with  the  form  of  organization  in  an- 
other city  will,  with  greater  zeal  than  prudence,  attempt 
to  draft  immediately  the  identical  institution  with  which 
he  is  familiar  upon  the  new  community ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  those  who  have  given  no  attention  to  the  progress 
made  in  other  cities  will  follow  blindly  their  traditional 
customs,  and  if  a  new  condition  arises  will  attempt  to 
meet  it  with  no  guidance  whatever  from  the  score  of 
instructive  attempts  that  may  have  already  been  made  to 
meet  the  same  condition  elsewhere. 

There  is  no  reason  why  there  should  not  be  far  greater 
uniformity  than  at  present  in  nomenclature,  and  progress 
is  already  noticeable  in  the  free  interchange  of  experiences 
among  various  cities.  If  a  broader  work  is  to  be  under- 
taken than  that  which  is  implied  by  the  two  titles  first 
suggested,  the  choice  would  appear  to  lie  between  the 

1  Cf.  page  351  for  a  statement  of  the  advantages  of  obtaining  relief  as  it 
is  needed,  case  by  case,  as  an  alternative  to  a  relief  fund.  Such  a  society 
as  here  suggested  may  obtain  and  disburse  relief  on  either  plan.  If  it  is 
deemed  best  to  have  a  relief  fund,  it  may  still  be  possible  to  obtain  relief, 
case  by  case,  replacing  in  this  way  amounts  temporarily  advanced  from 
the  relief  fund. 


78  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  i 

brief  and  expressive  United  Charities  and  the  title  which  is 
perhaps  more  widely  used  than  any  other  and  may  possi- 
bly be  regarded  as  somewhat  more  modest  than  the  other, 
Charity  Organization  Society.  The  current  abbreviation, 
C.  O.  S.,  is  familiar  in  national  conferences,  and  is  in  not 
infrequent  use  both  in  England  and  America.  The  older 
title,  Association  for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Poor, 
is  admirable  as  a  description,  but  is  too  cumbrous  for  com- 
mon use  and  is  apt  to  degenerate,  as  it  has  in  some  cities, 
into  the  infelicitous  "poor  association."  To  justify  the 
name  Associated  Charities  or  United  Charities,  the  society 
should  occupy  a  unique  and  commanding  position  in  the 
community.  It  should  not  be  one  among  rivals,  but  should 
really  be  an  agency  which  will  bring  into  immediate  inti- 
mate association  the  charitable  activities  of  the  entire 
community.  It  has  been  suggested  that  the  name  Charity 
Organization  Society  implies  some  attitude  of  superiority 
on  the  part  of  those  who  are  undertaking,  as  their  name 
suggests,  to  organize  the  charity  of  the  community.  If 
the  society  goes  farther  and  offers  to  provide  instruction 
for  professional  and  volunteer  workers  in  the  social  field, 
this  again  is  thought  to  imply  an  assumption  of  superiority 
of  knowledge  on  the  part  of  those  who  offer  themselves 
as  teachers.  Both  of  these  criticisms  rest  upon  a  fallacy. 
The  giving  of  instruction  and  the  organization  of  charita- 
ble endeavor  are  tasks  for  which  some  provision  should  be 
made.  Those  who  are  doing  these  things  are  by  that  fact 
debarred  from  undertaking  other  things  which  may  be  of 
equal  or  greater  value.  Even  the  college  faculty  does  not 
lay  claim  to  greater  culture  or  wisdom  than  belongs  to 
clergymen,  lawyers,  and  artists,  made  up  as  these  pro- 
fessions are  largely  of  men  who  have  earlier  been  students 
in  the  university.  The  particular  individuals  who  consti- 
tute the  college  faculty  may  be  more  or  less  capable  than 
those  who  are  their  contemporaries  in  age.  They  are  prob- 
ably only  the  peers  of  the  individuals  who  have  previously 
been  their  associates.  Some  individuals  become  teachers 
of  the  yQuth  of  future  generations,  others  take  up  other 
tasks.  Neither  the  hand  nor  the  foot  is  justified  in  claim- 
ing to  be  the  superior.  And  so  of  the  task  of  organizing 
charity.  To  secure  a  division  of  work  and  joint  effort, 


CHAP,  vi  LAW  AND  LOVE  79 

where  that  is  advisable,  is  neither  a  higher  nor  a  lower 
task  than  the  doing  of  the  work  itself;  and  for  a  society 
to  undertake  the  organization  of  charity  is  by  no  means  to 
lay  claim  to  a  superior  task.  The  name  is  a  suitable  one 
because  it  is  already  associated  in  the  public  mind  with 
thoroughness  of  investigation,  with  coordination  of  agen- 
cies, and  cooperation  among  them,  with  adequacy  of 
relief,  with  volunteer  personal  service  for  the  poor,  the 
suppression  of  mendicancy,  and  the  promotion  of  social 
reforms.  While  it  must  assume  whatever  natural  repug- 
nance may  exist  to  the  idea  of  "  organizing  "  so  intangible 
and  spiritual  a  thing  as  charity,  it  is  quite  possible  to 
make  it  clear  from  the  outset  that  organization  is  not 
mechanicalization;  that  organized  charity  is  but  the  union 
of  law  and  love,  as  it  was  formulated  by  Mark  Hopkins  in 
an  eloquent  passage  before  any  charity  organization  soci- 
ety had  yet  been  established.  "  Law  and  love  !  these  are 
the  two  mightiest  forces  in  the  universe,  and  thus  do  we 
marry  them.  ...  As  in  all  right  marriage  there  is  both 
contrariety  and  deep  harmony.  Law  is  stern,  majestic,  and 
the  fountain  of  all  order.  Love  is  mild,  winning,  the 
fountain  of  all  right  spontaneity — that  is,  of  the  sponta- 
neity that  follows  rational  choice.  Love  without  law  is 
capricious,  weak,  mischievous  ;  opposed  to  law  it  is  wicked. 
Law  without  love  is  unlovely.  .  .  .  Such  a  union  is 
demonstrably  the  only  condition  of  perfection  for  the  indi- 
vidual or  for  society,  and  when  it  shall  be  universally 
consummated  the  millennium  will  have  come." 

The  charity  organization  society  pleads  for  law  and  for 
love.  And  thus  we  join  them — organization  and  charity, 
law  and  love,  mind  and  heart,  the  charitable  impulse  and 
the  sensible  action. 


CHAPTER  VII 

BELIEF   AS  MODIFIED   BY   CONSTITUTION   OF   FAMILY 

ON  the  basis  of  social  status  it  will  be  convenient  to  dis- 
tinguish among  families  who  are  to  be  helped  :  — 

I.  Orphan  or  deserted  children,  constituting  a  family. 

II.  Unmarried  man  or  widower  without  children. 

III.  Unmarried  woman  or  widow  without  children. 

IV.  Married  couple  without  children. 
V.  Married  couple  with  children. 

VI.  Widow  or  deserted  wife  with  one  child. 

VII.  Unmarried  woman  with  illegitimate  child. 

VIII.  Widower  or  deserted  husband  with  children. 

IX.  Widow  or  deserted  wife  with  children. 

I.  It  happens  occasionally  that  a  family  of  orphan  chil- 
dren, or  children  who  are  worse  than  orphaned  because  of 
desertion  or  imprisonment  or  other  misfortune  which  de- 
prives them  of  their  natural  protectors,  are  so  related  to 
each  other,  and  are  of  such  ages,  that  it  is  advisable  for  them 
to  remain  a  family  group.  It  is  no  infrequent  sight  for  an 
older  sister  or  brother  to  be  responsible  for  the  care  of 
younger  brothers  and  sisters  during  the  entire  working  day, 
because  of  the  employment  of  both  parents  or  of  the  only 
surviving  parent.  So  numerous  are  these  "  little  mothers  " 
that  a  society  has  been  formed  especially  to  provide  out- 
ings and  other  forms  of  assistance  for  them.  Less  fre- 
quently the  maintenance  as  well  as  the  oversight  of 
younger  brothers  and  sisters  falls  upon  such  children  as 
are  of  working  age.  If  before  this  need  arises  one  or 
more  have  already  become  wage-earners  or  are  in  position 
to  earn  a  fair  income  at  once,  the  situation  does  not  neces- 
sarily call  for  outside  assistance.  Natural  affection  and  a 
praiseworthy  ambition  to  take  the  place  of  the  breadwinners 

80 


CHAP,  vii  OKPHAN   CHILDREN  81 

of  the  family  may  lead  to  sacrifices  as  great  and  to  results 
as  successful  as  those  which  are  seen  in  hard-working 
parents.  If  it  is  an  older  sister  upon  whom  this  burden 
falls,  it  may  indeed  be  one  of  crushing  weight,  and  may 
call  for  endowments  and  physical  endurance  which  are 
rarely  to  be  found  in  any  class. 

In  such  families  as  this  there  are  likely  to  come  crises 
when,  on  account  of  sickness  or  the  loss  of  work  or  ex- 
periences which  bring  exceptional  financial  obligations,  a 
helping  hand  is  advisable.  Such  occasions  should  be 
anticipated  by  those  who  are  in  such  natural  and  intimate 
relations  with  the  family  as  to  learn  about  them,  without 
the  necessity  of  formal  application  to  church,  relief  society, 
or  others.  It  will  not  weaken  the  character  of  children 
so  situated  to  have  such  help.  It  is,  indeed,  wise  to  guard 
against  the  danger  of  teaching  the  lesson  that  begging 
pays,  but  under  the  circumstances  described  this  is  not  the 

freat  danger.  This  lies  rather  in  the  possibility  that  such 
eroic  and  splendid  efforts  as  are  being  made  toward  self- 
support  may  fail,  and  that  the  seeds  of  bitterness  for 
neglect  and  for  lack  of  human  sympathy  may  take  root. 
Not  that  there  is  really  a  lack  of  such  sympathy,  but  it  may 
for  one  accidental  reason  or  another  fail  to  find  its  legiti- 
mate object,  and  there  may  exist,  along  with  the  very  quali- 
ties which  cause  so  difficult  a  task  to  be  undertaken,  a 
sensitiveness  which  shrinks  from  wide  acquaintance  or 
ready  response  to  neighborly  overtures.  [  Theclanger,  as 
in  so  large  a  number  of  cases,  is  less  the  miderTr&ining  of 
character  than  the  failure  to  build  up  character./  It  has 
too  often  been  assumed  that  the  only  problem  for  the 
charitable  is  to  refrain  from  destroying  the  character  of 
the  independent,  self-respecting  normal  citizen.  This  is 
indeed  essential,  but  very  often  it  is  a  widely  different 
duty  which  confronts  the  community.  The  task  is  rather 
to  bring  up  to  the  level  of  normal  citizenship  those  who,  if 
left  to  themselves,  will  be  overwhelmed  by  their  adverse 
condition,  or  who,  if  of  adult  years,  are  lacking  in  the  quali- 
ties which  are  so  highly  prized.  | 

II.  The  problem  of  single  men,  whether  unmarried  or 
widowers,  would  seem  to  be  a ' 'comparatively  simple  one. 
If  disabled  by  illness  or  accident,"  the  hospital  presents  it- 


82  PRINCIPLES  OF  BELIEF  PART  i 

self  as  the  naturalj^tTge  in  case  there  is  no  accessible 
home  with  re^ktrfesor  friends.  If  able-bodied,  it  must  be 
assumed  that  in  periods  of  normal  industrial  activity  em- 
ployment of  some  kind  is  to  be  had  which  will  yield  at 
least  enough  remuneration  for  their  own  support.  And 
yet  the  problem  of  the  care  of  homeless  men  is  found  in 
practice  not  to  be  so  free  from  complications  and  difficul- 
ties. Among  those  who  present  themselves  as  single, 
homeless  men  asking  for  aid  in  finding  work,  or  for  relief 
in  the  form  of  meals  and  lodgings,  there  are  in  fact  some 
who  are  not  without  family  obligations,  but  who  have 
deserted  their  families  and  have  afterward  found  them- 
selves unable  to  earn  even  their  own  living  ;  or  if  not 
unable,  at  least  ready  to  seek  help  and  not  above  the  use 
of  misrepresentation  and  fraud  in  attempting  to  secure  it. 

Furthermore  the  army  of  professional  beggars  is  chiefly 
recruited  from  the  class  of  single,  homeless  men,  and  of 
these  a  large  proportion  are  riot  really  able-bodied,  al- 
though their  own  account  of  the  origin  of  their  afflictions 
is  of  course  never  to  be  relied  upon.  This  is  not  the  place 
to  discuss  vagrancy,  which  is  essentially  a  police,  rather 
than  a  relief,  problem.  The  pseudo-charity  which  creates 
and  supports  vagrancy  is  entitled  neither  to  respect  nor  to 
defence.  >  Demonstrations  that  not  more  than  one  in  ten 
of  those  that  ask  for  help  on  the  street  at  the  door  is 
"deserving,"  have  little  weight  with  those  who  readily 
respond  that  they  would  rather  aid  nine  undeserving  per- 
sons, than  allow  one  who  is  deserving  to  suffer.  Those 
who  give  habitually  to  beggars  should,  however,  learn  that 
giving  to  the  tenth,  if  indeed  one  in  ten  is  "  deserving  "  in 
the  sense  in  which  that  term  is  thus  used,  is  more  injurious 
than  giving  to  the  other  nine,  f  The  gift  without  the  giver 
is  not  only  bare,  it  is  an  active  agent  of  injury. '  The  con- 
science which  is  relieved  by  giving  to  ten  beggars  in  the 
chance  that  one  may  be  in  need,  is  a  naive  and  unenlight- 
ened conscience.  The  possibility  of  securing  the  necessi- 
ties of  life  by  this  means,  thwarts  remedial  measures.  To 
give  money  or  its  equivalent  on  easy  terms  to  able-bodied, 
homeless  men,  is  not  a  neutral  act,  but  one  by  which 
serious,  direct  responsibility  is  incurred. 

It  is  by  no  means  the  case,  however,  that  there  is  no 


CHAP.   VII 


SINGLE   MEN  83 


field  for  charitable  endeavor  among  the  unattached,  home- 
less men,  and  even  among  those  who  have  become  profes- 
sional mendicants.  'There  are  few  of  them  to  whom,  at  one 
time  or  another,  there  does  not  come  a  desire  to  break 
loose  from  his  associations,  from  the  deceit  and  from  the 
unmanly  dependence,  and  to  take  an  honorable  place  in  the 
industry  and  the  social  life  of  the  community.  /  A  helping 
hand  in  finding  employment,  or  it  may  be  in  supplying 
tools,  suitable  clothing,  or  even  transportation  at  the  oppor- 
tune moment,  may  be  so  clearly  justified  that  its  omission 
would  be  little  less  than  criminal.  {The  reality,  however, 
must  be  distinguished  from  an  attempt  at  imposition.  It 
is  precisely  in  the  plea  for  money  for  such  purposes  as  this 
that  experienced  mendicants  are  most  successful.  It  is 
essential,  therefore,  that  the  donor,  or  some  one  who  can 
act  in  his  stead,  shall  keep  an  eye  on  the  beneficiary,  shall 
see  that  he  goes  to  work  and  remains  at  work,  or  shall  take 
such  other  reasonable  precautions  as  will  bring  the  greatest 
chance  of  success.  There  is  no  reason  for  discouragement 
in  occasional  failures,  or  in  the  fact  that  improvement  may 
be  slow ;  but  sincerity  of  purpose  may  rightly  be  insisted 
upon,  and  so  far  as  the  more  intelligent  and  capable  men 
who  form  a  considerable  element  in  the  mendicant  class  are 
concerned,  it  may  be  anticipated  that,  given  a  start  in  the 
right  direction,  they  will  speedily  make  their  own  way. 

It  is  in  dealing  with  applications  from  single,  homeless 
men,  more  perhaps  than  in  any  other  branch  of  philan- 
thropic work,  that  discrimination  and  experienced  judgment 
are  essential.  There  must  be  a  quick  and  sympathetic 
appreciation  for  the  tale  of  a  boy  who  is  really  desirous 
of  returning  to  his  home  after  his  first  experience  in 
feeding  upon  the  husks  of  the  swine.  There  must  be  a 
long  memory  for  faces  and  voices,  and  characteristic  inci- 
dents or  expression  in  the  narrative  of  the  applicant,  even 
when  all  have  been  more  or  less  disguised  by  the  mere  lapse 
of  time,  or  by  dissipation  or  other  cause.  There  must  be 
an  impartial  fairness  in  considering  whether  there  may  be 
an  element  of  justice  even  in  a  palpably  absurd  story,  or  at 
least  of  some  unexpressed  need  which  can  be  met.  There 
must  also  be  firmness  and  courage  in  applying  appropriate 
remedies  when  discipline  rather  than  relief  is  required, 


84  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PARTI 

and  withal  a  capacity  for  developing  ever  increased  sympa- 
thy, and  consideration,  and  patience,  and  hope,  however 
large  the  number  of  irreclaimable  human  beings  one  has 
met.  For  it  must  not  be  forgotten  that  none  is  irreclaim- 
able except  relatively,  that  until  one  has  infinite  resources 
at  his  command  he  is  not  justified  in  assuming  that  any 
particular  individual  could  not  have  been  saved  by  other 
and  different  means  than  those  which  had  been  tried  in 
vain.  It  is  the  part  of  wisdom  to  recognize  the  point 
beyond  which,  with  the  resources  at  hand  and  with  a  given 
attitude  on  the  part  of  an  applicant,  nothing  whatever  of 
good  can  be  accomplished,  and  to  leave  further  dealings 
with  those  who  are  in  position  to  apply  other  remedies ; 
but  this  is  far  from  forming  or  expressing  any  final  judg- 
ment upon  the  ultimate  outcome,  even  in  those  cases. 
;  So  far  as  applications  from  homeless  men  are  concerned, 
then,  the  task  is  to  single  out  those  who  have  family  ties, 
and  to  attempt,  if  possible,  to  restore  them  ;  and  to  rescue 
from  a  life  of  unworthy  dependence  those  who  by  reason- 
able encouragement  can  be  fitted  into  their 'natural  places 
as  self-supporting  wage-earners\;  to  secure  for  such  as  need 
it  hospital  and  custodial  care,  and  to  give  direction  and 
counsel  in  regard  to  employment  to  such  as  can  become 
self-supporting  only  through  this  form  of  aid.  It  is  true 
that  the  responsibility  for  finding  employment  rests  prima- 
rily upon  the  individual  himself,  quite  as  much  as  the  doing 
of  work  after  being  employed.  In  the  rapid  shifting  of 
opportunities  for  employment,  however,  from  one  place  to 
another,  and  the  numerous  artificial  disturbances  of  the  nor- 
mal course  of  industry,  it  is  not  strange  that  many  who  are 
able  to  work  satisfactorily  are  without  the  initiative  essen- 
tial to  the  finding  of  work.  The  free  state  employment 
bureaus,  and,  to  a  still  greater  extent,  the  development  of 
employment  exchange  advertisements  in  the  daily  press, 
meet  this  need,  and  sometimes  a  simple  direction  to  one 
of  these  sources  of  information  is  all  that  is  requisite. 

There  will  remain  those  who  cannot  be  helped  by  relief 
or  by  personal  counsel,  and  who  insist  upon  preying  on 
the  public  and  living  the  life  of  professional  beggars. 
They  prefer  to  live  without  regular  employment,  and  are 
both  in  intent  and  in  fact  offenders  against  the  law  of  the 


CHAP,  vii  UNMARRIED   WOMEN  85 

land.  There  is  no  choice  but  to  prosecute  and  deal  with 
such  offenders  as  criminals.  Through  the  system  of  pro- 
bation and  suspended  sentence,  and  through  timely  efforts 
at  reformation  at  the  moment  of  discharge  from  prison, 
something  may  be  accomplished  even  with  these  men,  and 
among  them,  as  among  original  applicants  for  relief,  will 
be  found  individuals  who  are  very  responsive  to  personal 
interest  and  encouragement. 

III.  A  deep-rooted  instinct  that  woman  is  entitled  to 
protection  prevents  the  throwing  upon  the  charity  of  the 
community  of  any  large  number  of  girls  or  young  women 
who  are  absolutely  homeless;  they  are  not,  however, 
entirely  unknown.  Runaway  girls  who  become  stranded 
in  a  strange  city;  women  who  are  at  a  distance  from  their 
friends,  or  who  have  but  recently  been  discharged  from 
a  hospital;  and  more  often  women  who  have  outlived  their 
years  of  active  service  as  domestics,  and  who  have  drifted 
away  from  those  upon  whom  they  have  any  special  claim, 
are  found  in  considerable  numbers  in  the  cities  among 
applicants  for  relief.  Unless  enfeebled  by  illness  or  age, 
or  placed  at  a  disadvantage  by  vicious  habits  or  offensive 
traits  of  character,  there  is  little  difficulty  in  finding  work 
for  such  applicants  when  able-bodied  and  supplied  with 
references  as  to  efficiency  and  character.  Their  natural 
resource  is  the  employment  bureau,  although  careful  pre- 
cautions should  be  taken  against  fraudulent  employment 
agencies  which  are  sometimes  used  as  a  decoy  for  nouses 
of  prostitution. 

There  is  a  legitimate  but  very  limited  demand  for 
temporary  shelters  for  the  few  who  must  be  cared  for 
until  employment  is  found,  or  until  there  can  be  commu- 
nication with  relatives  or  friends.  There  may  well  be,  at 
least  in  the  larger  cities,  a  public  lodging-house,  in  which 
under  suitable  restrictions  shelter  may  be  provided  for 
those  who  are  not  properly  almshouse  inmates,  and  who 
can  readily  place  themselves,  if  given  shelter  for  a  day  or 
two.  The  women's  lodging-house,  if  one  is  established, 
should  be  distinct  from  that  conducted  for  homeless 
men,  and  lodgers  should  be  given  private  rooms  and  wise 
matronly  oversight.  In  smaller  towns  it  will  be  feasible 
to  care  for  such  applicants  in  a  suitable  boarding-house 


86  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PARTI 

or  a  private  family.  Convalescent  homes  pleasantly  situ- 
ated, and  sufficient  in  number  or  in  accommodations  to 
enable  patients  to  remain  until  they  have  fully  recovered 
health  and  strength,  are  specially  needed  for  wage-earning 
women  whose  resources  have  been  exhausted  by  illness,  or 
who  are  not  in  position  to  be  cared  for  by  friends.  For 
superannuated  domestics  and  those  who  are  past  service 
on  account  of  mental  or  physical  infirmities,  the  usual  re- 
sources after  their  own  savings  are  exhausted,  in  the 
absence  of  relatives  able  to  support  them,  is  the  almshouse, 
and,  for  exceptional  cases,  the  private  homes  for  the  aged. 

It  is  a  fair  question  whether  for  these  more  than  for  any 
other  class  there  cannot  be  made  a  valid  argument  in 
favor  of  state  old-age  pensions.  The  normal  family 
contains  within  itself  the  element  of  continuing  self- 
support.  The  growth  of  children  coincides  with  the  decay 
of  wage-earning  capacity  in  the  parents ;  and  even  if  there 
are  no  children,  the  strength  of  the  wife  may  offset  de- 
ficient earning  capacity  in  the  husband,  or,  if  both  fail, 
there  are  in  the  two  sets  of  relatives  double  chances  of 
natural  outside  aid.  The  unmarried  man  has  a  much 
greater  range  of  employment,  and  for  various  reasons, 
some  of  which  at  least  are  not  likely  to  be  altered,  has, 
other  things  being  equal,  greater  money-earning  capacity. 
The  woman  who  is  dependent  upon  her  own  resources, 
under  existing  conditions,  finds  her  living  expenses  greater, 
rather  than  less,  than  those  of  the  unmarried  man.  The 
only  considerable  offset  to  the  economic  disadvantage  at 
which  she  is  placed  is  the  greater  natural  readiness  of 
brothers,  married  sisters,  or  more  distant  relatives  to  pro- 
vide a  home  for  her  in  case  of  need.  For  those  of  whom 
we  are  speaking,  viz.,  women  who  have  spent  the  normal 
working  life  in  domestic  service  or  in  other  employment 
which  prevents  their  taking  part  in  a  normal  home  life, 
this  resource  is  greatly  lessened.  They  may  well  be  at  a 
long  distance  from  their  immediate  kindred,  and  by  the 
very  nature  of  their  employment  are  likely,  to  some  ex- 
tent, to  be  estranged  from  those  upon  whom  they  might 
otherwise  establish  a  claim. 

For  them,  therefore,  if  for  any,  the  state  might  wisely 
make  such  provision  as  is  made  for  soldiers  and  for  those 


CHAP,  vii  MARRIED   COUPLES  87 

who  have  served  the  community  in  certain  branches  of  the 
civil  service.  Unless  and  until  some  such  provision  is 
made,  there  should  be  great  liberality  on  the  part  of  the 
charitable  public  in  meeting  the  needs  of  disabled  home- 
less women  ;  but  this  provision  should,  of  course,  take 
account  of  the  efforts  made  by  the  applicant  to  provide  for 
her  own  needs.  If  there  has  been  frugality  and  industry, 
and  a  disposition  to  help  others,  it  may  be  anticipated  that 
more  agreeable  forms  of  relief  can  be  supplied  than  if 
these  qualities  have  been  lacking.  An  impossible  standard, 
however,  should  not  be  set  up,  and  the  principle  is  that 
reasonable  assurance  of  care  in  case  of  unavoidable  mis- 
fortune will  operate  as  a  motive  to  thrift,  rather  than  the 
contrary.  It  is  quite  possible  that  some  of  those  who  are 
now  inmates  of  almshouses  throughout  the  country  could 
be  removed  and  cared  for  with  greater  personal  consider- 
ation without  in  the  least  undermining  character  or  dis- 
couraging prudence  and  application  in  the  younger.  It  is 
certain  that  greater  consideration,  increased  respect  for 
individual  likes  and  dislikes,  and  in  general  a  higher 
standard  of  comfort  in  the  almshouses,  is  compatible  with 
every  necessary  precaution  against  pauperizing  the  com- 
munity. This  is  a  danger  which  is  to  be  guarded  against 
by  discrimination  in  admission,  by  diligent  inquiry  for 
relatives,  and  by  individualizing  those  who  are  admitted, 
rather  than  by  withholding  the  comforts  and  decencies  to 
which  applicants  have  been  accustomed. 

Among  the  unmarried  women  and  widows  who  apply 
for  relief,  there  will  be  some  who  are  of  vicious  character, 
or  who  are  so  addicted  to  drink  or  other  stimulants  that 
only  reformatory  discipline  and  perhaps  medical  treatment 
will  be  of  any  avail.  In  the  plea  that  has  been  made  for 
special  consideration  for  the  protection  of  homeless  girls 
and  women,  these  needs  must  not  be  ignored.  Sternness 
and  decision  in  applying  the  only  remedies  from  which 
there  is  any  hope  of  success  are  as  essential  here  as  in 
dealing  with  homeless  men. 

IV.  It  is  astounding  that  among  applicants  for  relief 
there  is  occasionally  found  the  case  of  a  young  native-born, 
able-bodied,  unencumbered  married  couple.  The  natural 
inclination  of  one  to  whom  such  an  application  is  made  is 


88  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PARTI 

to  deliver  an  incisive  and  stimulating  lecture,  and  send 
the  applicants  unceremoniously  about  their  business,  and, 
on  the  whole,  perhaps  no  more  judicious  treatment  could 
be  suggested.  Even  when  there  is  a  handicap  of  inefficiency, 
of  physical  incapacity,  of  ignorance  of  the  language,  or  of 
lack  of  acquaintance  in  the  neighborhood,  a  very  conserva- 
tive course  with  reference  to  material  relief  is  advisable. 
Those  who  remove  to  a  new  community,  especially  if  it  is 
to  a  foreign  country  with  strange  language  and  customs, 
assume  a  responsibility  which  for  the  common  good  must 
largely  be  left  upon  their  own  shoulders.  In  casting  aside 
the  acquaintances,  friendships,  and  other  social  ties  which 
are  so  often  of  direct  advantage  in  solving  the  problem  of 
earning  a  living,  a  risk  is  necessarily  assumed,  and  it  will 
be  mischievous  to  implant  the  idea  that  this  risk  is  less 
than  it  really  is. 

V.  Accident,  illness,  or  some  sudden  shifting  of  indus- 
trial conditions  may  justify  relief  for  a  married  couple,  and 
in  old  age  the  fact  that  both  man  and  wife  have  survived 
will  create  no  presumption  against  assistance,  if  the  condi- 
tions otherwise  demand  it.  The  assumption  that  the  mere 
existence  of  children  in  the  family  gives  a  claim  for  relief 
which  wrould  otherwise  be  denied,  is  one  to  which  may  be 
traced  a  vast  amount  of  harmful  giving.  The  test  is  not 
the  number  of  children  or  the  presence  of  any  other  single 
condition  in  the  composition  of  the  family  group  ;  it  is 
rather  a  question  as  to  whether  the  family  is  helpable  ; 
whether  any  radical  relief  is  possible  ;  whether  any  benefi- 
cial result  can  be  accomplished.  If  the  relief  perpetuates 
unwholesome  or  vicious  conditions,  it  is  equally  to  be  con- 
demned whether  applied  to  a  childless  couple  or  to  a  fam- 
ily with  many  children  ;  whether  applied  to  the  old  or  to 
the  young  ;  whether  given  to  a  dispossessed  widow  with 
small  children,  or  to  a  homeless  man. 

Opportunities  for  industrial  training  leading  to  self- 
support  need  not  be  denied  to  single  men  or  women,  or  to 
married  couples  without  children.  There  is  no  reason  why 
the  expense  of  such  training,  however,  should  not,  if  practi- 
cable, be  thrown  upon  the  beneficiaries.  The  problem  is 
different  from  that  of  training  children,  the  product  of 
whose  labor  can  ordinarily  have  but  slight  market  value. 


CHAP,  vii  ,  MOTHER   WITH  ONE   CHILD  89 

In  institutions  for  children,  sound  educational  policies  are 
usually  incompatible  with  attempts  to  make  an  income 
from  the  product  of  the  industries  employed  in  the  train- 
ing of  the  children.  Adult  men  and  women,  however,  may 
more  readily  be  put  at  employment  in  which  the  deficien- 
cies of  their  earlier  education  may  be  made  good,  habits 
of  application  and  industry  developed,  and  even  some  de- 
gree of  skill  attained;  while  at  the  same  time  the  product 
of  the  work  done  may  be  made  to  meet  the  entire  expense  of 
such  training,  while  affording  a  bare  living  wage  to  those 
who  are  trained. 

For  aged  couples  there  are  in  some  cities  private  homes, 
and  there  is  also  a  tendency,  which  is  to  be  encouraged, 
to  provide  accommodation  for  aged  couples  in  the  public 
almshouse.  With  the  safeguards  to  which  attention  has 
been  repeatedly  called  elsewhere,  there  is  no  need  of  the 
inhumanity  of  separating  husband  and  wife  when  they 
become  dependent  upon  the  public  for  self-support. 

VI.  A  widow  with  one  child,  if  able  to  do  housework, 
may  usually  be  self-supporting  at  domestic  service.  If 
better  adapted  to  some  other  form  of  employment,  she  may 
prefer  to  make  some  arrangement  for  the  care  of  her  child, 
either  in  a  home  of  her  own  or  at  board.  It  is  found  that 
there  are  many  families  who  will  readily  receive  for  general 
housework,  or  for  some  special  branch  of  household  service, 
a  mother  with  a  child,  allowing  for  the  board  of  the  child 
on  a  fair  basis  of  exchange  toward  the  compensation  of  the 
mother,  and  of  course  allowing  the  mother  also  to  give 
so  much  time  as  is  necessary  to  the  care  of  her  child.  In 
many  instances  this  arrangement  is  far  better  both  for  the 
child  and  for  the  mother  than  employment  which  causes 
them  to  be  separated  during  the  day,  even  if  the  remunera- 
tion of  such  employment  is  enough  to  provide  a  caretaker 
to  look  after  the  home,  and  to  care  for  the  child,  or  to  pay 
for  board  of  the  latter  in  a  private  family.  Much  depends, 
however,  upon  the  circumstances  of  the  case  as  to 
choice  among  various  plans.  Aside  from  the  presence  o 
some  cause  of  distress  such  as  might  be  otherwise  present, 
there  is  nothing  in  the  social  status  of  a  widow  with  one 
child  which  would  make  dependence  upon  charity  in- 
evitable. With  a  young  infant,  with  a  child  requiring 


90  PRINCIPLES  OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

exceptional  care,  and  especially  in  a  period  of  distress  or 
of  transition,  such  as  might  immediately  follow  the  death 
of  a  husband  who  has  been  the  breadwinner  of  the  family, 
financial  aid  might  be  advisable,  and  there  may  always  be 
such  changes  resulting  from  the  death  of  father,  brothers, 
or  others  from  whom  assistance  has  been  obtained,  as 
will  create  temporary  need.  Other  things  being  equal,  a 
widow  with  an  infant  child  has  naturally  greater  burdens 
than  a  childless  woman,  but  she  has  also  a  greater  motive 
to  application  and  good  habits,  and  if  qualified  physically 
and  by  experience  for  any  one  of  many  occupations,  she 
will  have  little  occasion  to  ask  for  outside  help. 

VII.  The  considerations  which  lead  us  to  prefer  that  a 
widow  or  deserted  wife  with  infant  child  should  find  such 
work  as  will  enable  her  to  keep  her  offspring  with  her, 
apply  with  redoubled  force  when  the  child  is  born  out  of 
wedlock.  The  unmarried  mother  who  is  separated  from 
her  child  is  deprived  of  a  safeguard  of  which  she  is  some- 
times in  sore  need ;  and  separation,  whether  the  child  is 
placed  in  an  institution,  or  given  to  a  foster-mother,  or 
abandoned  completely,  is  likely  to  result  in  the  child's 
death.  The  mortality  in  foundling  asylums  has  always 
been  notoriously  high  ;  and  while  the  chance  of  the  found- 
ling for  life  in  a  good  boarding  home  is  greater,  this  is 
only  brought  about  by  a  degree  of  vigilance  and  personal 
devotion  that  is  rare. 

It  is  recorded  by  those  who  have  had  long  experience  in 
the  care  of  dependent  children,  that  mothers  who  relin- 
quish their  offspring  at  birth  as  a  rule  gradually  cease  to 
care  for  them,  and  seldom  attempt  to  reestablish  the  nat- 
ural relation.  Subsequent  illegitimate  births  are  more  fre- 
quent, and  this  may  sometimes  be  directly  attributed,  on 
the  testimony  of  the  mother  herself,  to  the  fact  of  the  sep- 
aration in  the  first  instance.  Foundling  asylums  and 
maternity  hospitals  which  care  for  mother  and  child  for  a 
suitable  period  and  subsequently  place  the  mother  with 
the  child  at  domestic  service,  or  at  other  suitable  employ- 
ment, therefore  do  their  simple  duty  toward  both  child 
and  mother.  In  New  York  and  Boston  a  separate  agency 
for  the  particular  purpose  of  providing  situations,  mainly 
in  the  country,  for  mothers  and  infants,  has  demon- 


CHAP,  vii  WIDOWER   WITH   FAMILY  91 

strated  its  great  usefulness,1  while  in  Philadelphia  and 
other  cities  similar  work  is  done  by  the  Children's  Aid 
Society. 

It  is  believed  that  the  foundling  asylum  to  which  a 
new-born  infant  might  be  brought  and  deposited  by  the 
mother,  with  no  requirements  that  the  latter  should  make 
herself  known,  served  as  a  perceptible  check  upon  infanti- 
cide, and  that  there  was  a  time  when  this  awful  crime 
occurred  more  frequently  than  can  readily  be  conceived. 
On  the  other  hand  it  is  held  that  the  existence  of  such 
institutions,  making  easy  the  abandonment  of  children, 
removed  a  deterring  check  upon  illegitimacy.  A  change 
of  plan,  by  which  mothers  are  induced  to  enter  the  institu- 
tion with  the  child,  has  been  for  the  better,  although  the 
subsequent  separation  often  permitted  prevents  the  reap- 
ing of  the  full  possible  benefits  of  the  change. 

If  the  point  at  which  the  problem  is  taken  up  is  the 
care  of  the  mother  and  child  after  birth,  there  is  no  better 
solution  than  that  of  finding  situations  in  good  homes  for 
such  as  are  by  nature  and  experience  suited  to  this  kind 
of  employment.  It  is  essential,  however,  that  the  charac- 
ter and  standing  of  the  employers  be  thoroughly  ascer- 
tained, and  it  is  advisable  that  those  who  have  aided  in 
finding  such  employment  shall  keep  in  touch  with  the 
mother  by  correspondence,  or  still  better  by  personal 
visits.  In  fact,  of  course,  the  problem  does  not  begin  at 
the  point  which  we  have  assumed.  Guidance  and  counsel 
before  confinement,  removal  of  any  social  causes  which 
lead  to  this  form  of  dependence,  and  educational  influ- 
ences begun  far  back  in  childhood  are  the  true  beginnings, 
and  in  the  last  of  these  attention  should  be  directed  toward 
the  reformation  and  training  of  the  two  sexes  alike. 

VIII.  It  is  conceivable  that  a  widower,  upon  his  wife's 
death,  should  find  himself  seriously  embarrassed  in  mak- 
ing provision  for  the  care  of  his  children,  even  though  his 
income  had  been  amply  sufficient  to  care  for  the  entire 
family.  In  the  normal  family  the  contribution  made  by 

1  Known  in  Boston  as  the  Charity  for  Aiding  Mothers  and  Infants,  and 
in  New  York  as  the  Agency  for  Providing  Situations  in  the  Country  for 
Destitute  Mothers  with  Children  — a  branch  of  the  State  Charities  Aid 
Association. 


92  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

the  mother  to  the  common  welfare  is  fully  equal  to  that 
of  the  father  even  though  it  is  not  so  readily  measured  in 
dollars  and  cents.  The  loss  of  the  mother  may  well  be 
held  to  reduce  by  one-half  the  effective  income  of  the 
family,  even  though  she  does  not  earn  a  dollar  of  money, 
and  even  if  the  father  contributes  his  share  in  the  training 
and  discipline  of  the  children  and  in  the  heavier  part  of 
the  household  work.  It  does  not  follow,  however,  that 
normally  the  loss  of  the  wife  causes  the  family  of  the 
wage-earner  to  become  dependent  upon  outside  aid.  It 
may  be  expected  to  result  in  a  distinct  deprivation  of 
physical  comforts,  besides  the  greater  and  immeasurable 
loss  of  companionship  and  guidance.  There  should,  how- 
ever, be  a  margin  between  the  standard  of  living,  which 
is  to  be  fully  realized  only  when  both  heads  of  the  family 
are  living  and  in  good  health,  and  that  lower  level  of 
self-support  beneath  which  charitable  assistance  becomes 
necessary.  In  many  instances  even  the  higher  level  may 
be  maintained  if  one  of  the  children,  especially  if  a  daugh- 
ter, is  old  enough  to  take  up  the  household  cares,  or  if 
some  near  relative  of  the  husband  is  in  position  to  step 
into  the  vacant  place. 

Whenever  a  home  can  be  kept  in  such  ways  for  half- 
orphan  children,  there  will  not  infrequently  result  rather 
more  of  parental  affection  and  moral  training  and  the 
other  elements  of  the  home  that  has  been  broken  by  death, 
than  when  they  are  cared  for  outside  the  family,  whether 
in  institutions  or  in  foster  homes.  This  is  a  point,  how- 
ever, upon  which  generalization  must  be  made  with 
caution.  A  father  whose  daily  task  gives  little  or  no 
opportunity  for  personal  contact  with  his  child  may  find 
it  a  duty  to  intrust  it  to  foster-parents,  or  may  find  that 
only  by  boarding  it  in  an  institution  for  children  can  he 
give  it  the  education  and  the  physical  care  to  which  it  is 
entitled.  The  guiding  principle  is  that  an  able-bodied 
man  cannot  consistently  with  self-respect  accept  charita- 
ble aid  in  the  support  of  his  children,  unless  under  very 
exceptional  circumstances,  and  then  only  in  the  expec- 
tation of  cancelling  whatever  obligations  he  may  have 
incurred. 

What  is  true  of  the  widower  is  equally  true  of   the 


.  vn  WIDOW   WITH  SMALL  CHILDREN  93 

husband  who,  through  the  desertion  of  the  mother  of  his 
children,  is  left  doubly  responsible  for  their  care.  Fortu- 
nately such  cases  are  rare.  /The  act  of  abandonment  by 
the  mother,  although  no  more  reprehensible  than  desertion 
by  the  father,  indicates  so  unnatural  a  disposition  that  one 
is  readily  reconciled  to  a  belief  that  the  children  will  fare 
better  in  the  hands  of  strangers.  The  husband's  brutal- 
ity may  indeed  often  all  but  justify  flight  from  a  bare  in- 
stinct of  self-preservation  ;  yet  all  experienee  shows  that 
even  in  the  most  extreme  cases  of  this  kind  a  neglected  or 
abused  wife  will  escape  only  with  her  children,  or  after 
some  permanent  provision  for  their  safety  and  care  has 
been  made.  Reluctance  to  resort  either  to  legal  remedies 
or  to  any  other  outside  protection  is  the  rule,  and  this 
attitude  is  repeatedly  maintained  in  the  face  of  the  most 
earnest  entreaties  on  the  part  of  neighbors  and  friends 
to  institute  legal  measures  for  punishment  and  protection. 

IX.  In  the  central  place  of  all  charitable  literature 
stands  the  widow  and  her  fatherless  children ;  from  the 
earliest  times  her  need  has  been  recognized  to  be  imperative 
and  unique.  Others  may  be  brought  to  dependence  by  un- 
toward misfortune  ;  old  age  and  infirmity  have  aroused  a 
degree  of  sympathy  akin  to  that  felt  for  helpless  children  ; 
but  for  the  widow,  upon  whom  through  the  death  of  her 
husband  has  devolved,  in  addition  to  the  duties  which  she 
was  already  discharging,  the  necessity  of  becoming  the 
family  wage-earner,  through  the  performance,  it  may  be, 
of  tasks  to  which  she  is  physically  unfitted  —  a  change 
resulting  inevitably  in  a  lowering  of  standards,  in  the  giv- 
ing up  of  a  home,  in  parting  with  valued  possessions,  or 
in  the  giving  up  of  cherished  plans  for  her  children  ;  for 
the  widow  and  the  fatherless  there  has  always  been  pity 
if  not  charity ;  there  has  always  been  recognized  a  right 
to  special  consideration,  even  if  there  has  often  been 
lacking  that  encouragement  which  would  have  been  best 
for  her  and  for  her  children. 

After  all  deductions  are  made,  it  will  remain  true  that 
widows  are  most  often  legitimately  entitled  to  relief; 
and  yet  it  may  be  as  well  to  be  sure  that  the  deductions 
are  made.  Let  it  be  borne  in  mind,  first,  that  it  is  one 
of  the  fundamental  duties  of  the  male  heads  of  families 


94  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PARTI 

to  make  some  provision  for  the  care  of  the  family  in 
case  of  death.  This  can  be  done  through  life  insurance, 
through  membership  in  some  well-managed  benefit  society, 
or  through  systematic  savings.  It  can  hardly  be  expected 
that  the  average  wage-earner  will  lay  aside  a  sum  suffi- 
cient to  provide  for  a  long  period  for  his  family  in  case  of 
his  own  death ;  but  it  is  precisely  the  period  of  readjust- 
ment, lasting,  it  may  be,  but  a  few  weeks  or  months,  in 
which  the  need  is  greatest,  and  an  available  sum  in  cash, 
even  if  it  be  but  a  few  hundred  dollars,  may  easily  pre- 
vent any  recourse  whatever  to  charitable  aid.  Again,  a 
widow  may  have  children  old  enough  to  contribute  to  the 
family  income,  or  there  may  be  near  kindred  whose  finan- 
cial aid  is  not  to  be  classed  with  that  of  strangers. 

There  are  those,  again,  and  perhaps  these  are  the  larger 
number,  who  do  find  themselves  able  to  manage  without 
the  aid  of  their  own  children  or  their  kindred.  These  are 
the  women  who  have  been  independent  before  marriage 
and  find  themselves  in  position  to  resume  the  occupations 
through  which  they  have  earned  their  living,  and  those 
who  have  such  a  degree  of  energy  and  adaptability  to 
circumstances  that  they  put  themselves  into  relation  with 
the  life  of  the  community,  offering  some  service  for  which 
there  is  a  demand,  and  obtaining  sufficient  remuneration 
to  provide  either  at  home  or  at  board  for  themselves 
and  for  those  who  are  dependent  upon  them. 

A  charitable  worker  in  one  of  the  large  cities  has  ex- 
pressed to  the  writer  the  belief  that  any  able-bodied 
woman  of  average  natural  ability  can  manage  to  support 
herself  and  her  children  if  there  is  enough  insurance  to 
provide  for  the  necessities  of  the  family  for  a  few  weeks, 
or  if  she  is  aided  to  tide  over  this  period  of  readjust- 
ment to  her  new  conditions.  The  occupations  to  which 
such  women  as  this  worker  has  in  mind  would  turn  are 
those  of  laundress,  seamstress,  office  cleaner,  housekeeper, 
and  perhaps  in  more  exceptional  cases,  newsdealer,  sales- 
woman, etc.  This  estimate  is  probably  too  sweeping,  or 
at  least,  if  true  that  the  average  mother  can  and  does 
accomplish  the  result,  it  cannot  be  denied  that  it  is  done 
only  at  the  risk  of  her  own  health,  and  too  often  with  real 
deprivation  on  the  part  of  the  children.  It  would  be 


CHAP,  vii  DESERTED  FAMILIES  95 

better  for  the  mothers,  for  the  children,  and  for  society 
to  curb,  rather  than  to  encourage,  the  ambition  to  be  self- 
supporting  when  this  means  that  the  income  is  to  be 
earned  by  the  efforts  of  the  mother  of  a  family  of  small 
children.  Occupation  which  separates  the  mother  from 
her  children  for  the  entire  working  day,  and  for  six  days 
in  the  week,  is  certainly  unsuitable.  It  is  rare,  indeed, 
that  any  plan  can  be  devised  for  providing  a  satisfactory 
substitute  for  a  mother's  direct  personal  care  and  over- 
sight. 

It  will  not  be  unreasonable  that  some  contribution  tow- 
ard the  support  of  the  family  should  be  made ;  but  in 
the  cities  where  rents  and  the  cost  of  provisions  are  nec- 
essarily high,  it  can  be  made  to  cover  the  entire  income 
only  in  exceptional  cases.  The  increase  in  the  number  of 
occupations  open  to  women  has  enabled  many  to  pass 
from  the  ranks  of  the  ordinary  wage-earners  to  the  more 
skilled  and  professional  vocations  in  which  hours  of  duty 
are  lower  and  remuneration  higher.  Applications  for 
relief  are  rare  from  those  who  are  engaged  in  these 
higher  occupations,  and  when  they  do  occur  are  usually  to 
be  attributed  to  illness  or  to  some  exceptional  misfortune. 

What  has  been  said  of  the  normal  deficiency  in  income 
applies  only  to  the  widow  with  dependent  children  who 
has  no  profession  or  skilled  trade,  and  whose  husband  has 
made  no  effective  provision  for  her  support.  The  deserted 
family  presents  problems  distinct  from  those  involved  in 
the  relief  of  widows,  and  these  will  be  considered  in 
another  chapter.  After  a  long  separation,  or  one  that  is 
likely  to  be  permanent,  and  after  due  efforts  at  reconcilia- 
tion or  prosecution,  as  the  case  may  require,  the  deserted 
wife  with  dependent  children  may  sometimes  properly  be 
regarded  as  virtually  in  the  position  of  a  widow  with 
children.  Relief  may  be  as  necessary,  and  as  fully  justi- 
fied, in  the  case  of  a  deserted  family  as  in  that  of  a  family 
in  which  the  male  wage-earner  is  disabled  by  illness  or 
removed  by  death.  This  is  true,  however,  only  on  condi- 
tion that  the  criminal  deserter  is  dealt  with  as  such,  and 
it  is  essential  that  the  relief  supplied  shall  be  of  such  a 
character,  and  given  under  such  conditions,  as  shall  not 
encourage  desertion  on  the  part  of  others. 


96  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PARTI 

Every  type  of  family  group  is  encountered  in  the  ex- 
amination of  the  records  of  charitable  societies.  The 
proportions,  however,  vary  in  different  cities,  and  in  the 
same  community  they  vary  with  changes  in  industrial 
conditions.  Widows,  deserted  families,  aged  persons,  re- 
main a  less  variable  factor,  especially  in  the  older  commu- 
nities, and  from  one  year  to  another.  In  the  centre  of 
migration  homeless  men  increase  in  number,  and  in  regions 
where  there  are  many  deaths  among  wage-earners  in  dan- 
gerous occupations  the  number  of  widows  and  orphans 
becomes  abnormally  large  ;  but  representatives  of  all  will 
be  found  wherever  an  application  bureau  is  opened,  or 
where  there  is  reason  to  believe  that  response  will  be  made 
to  appeals  made  to  individual  charity.  The  unity  -and 
the  responsibility  of  the  family  are  the  first  consideration 
in  deciding  upon  the  natural  source  of  relief  in  any  case, 
and  the  modifying  consideration  is  the  responsibility  of 
the  neighbor,  or,  more  broadly  expressed,  the  responsibility 
of  society  for  relieving  distress  in  such  a  manner  and  with 
such  safeguards  as  will  strengthen  individual  character 
and  the  feeling  of  responsibility  on  the  part  of  the  indi- 
vidual for  the  welfare  of  those  who  through  family  or 
other  ties  have  claims  upon  them. 


CHAPTER   VIII 

THE   BREAKING   UP   OF   FAMILIES 

THE  breaking  up  of  a  family  by  any  outside  agency  is 
justified  only  when  it  is  merely  the  outward  expression  of 
a  destruction  which  has  already  taken  place.  The  stern 
scriptural  injunction,  "  Whom  God  hath  joined  together 
let  no  man  put  asunder,"  gains  increased  solemnity  and 
force  when  children  are  born  of  the  union  so  that  the 
family  bond  includes  the  relation  between  parent  and 
child  as  well  as  that  between  man  and  wife.  The  separa- 
tion of  husband  and  wife,  the  removal  of  children,  the 
involuntary  displacement  of  an  aged  member  of  the  family, 
are  the  more  usual  forms  of  separation  which  are  included 
under  the  expression  the  breaking  up  of  families.  Any 
one  of  these  may  be  dictated  by  mere  caprice ;  circum- 
stances may  exist  under  which  public  opinion  will  approve 
any  one  of  them ;  conditions  may  arise  under  which  the 
strong  arm  of  the  law  may  give  its  sanction  to  such  a 
course.  The  presumption,  however,  is  against  either  com- 
pulsory or  voluntary  breaking  up  of  the  family  except 
by  the  natural  and  evolutionary  withdrawal  of  children 
who  have  attained  their  growth  and  who  come  to  rely 
upon  their  own  exertions  or  establish  new  families  of  their 
own. 

The  family  is  the  ultimate  unit  of  our  social  organiza- 
tion. Other  social  institutions  are  supplemental  to  it, 
and  it  is  not  an  unfair  test  of  their  value  whether  they 
strengthen  and  support  the  family  and  the  ends  for  which 
the  family  exists,  or  on  the  contrary  tend  to  disintegrate 
the  family  and  to  thwart  its  objects.  Even  the  church  does 
not  relieve  the  family  of  its  duty  as  a  religious  institution, 
but  only  aids  and  supplements  it.  The  school  only  takes 
up  the  work  of  education  where  the  family  leaves  it,  and 

H  97 


98  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

upon  the  latter  remains  a  responsibility  parallel  with  that 
of  the  school  and  extending  far  beyond  it.  Hospitals  and 
other  agencies  of  medical  relief  are  expedients  for  restor- 
ing as  quickly  as  possible  to  their  active  and  normal 
places  in  the  family  those  who  are  disabled  from  perform- 
ing their  part.  Homes  for  aged  persons  and  for  incur- 
ables are  agencies  for  the  care  of  that  limited  proportion 
of  the  class  to  which  their  inmates  belong,  for  whom, 
because  of  exceptional  reasons,  a  normal  life  has  become 
impossible.  Orphan  asylums  and  other  institutions  for 
children  are  primarily  to  provide  shelter  and  training  for 
children  who  are  deprived  of  their  natural  birthright  in 
the  opportunity  for  a  growth  and  development  in  the 
family,  and  for  the  parental  care  which,  to  the  child,  is 
the  chief  element  in  family  life.  The  social  club,  the 
boarding-house,  the  tenement-house,  the  employment  of 
women  in  factories,  the  higher  education  of  women,  all  of 
these,  and  countless  other  social  innovations  and  institu- 
tions, are  judged  instinctively  more  by  their  influence 
upon  the  family  than  by  any  other  single  test,  although 
each  will  naturally  involve  other  considerations  of  greater 
or  less  importance. 

The  application  of  the  test  is  not  always  easy.  For 
example,  if  it  be  asked  whether  homes  for  aged  persons 
supported  by  charitable  contributions  have  the  effect  of 
removing  from  the  family  those  who  should  be  supported 
by  their  children  or  other  near  relatives,  it  is  necessary  to 
ascertain  how  far  the  inmates  of  such  homes  really  have 
such  relatives  and  how  far  it  would  be  possible  for  them  to 
provide  a  home  for  the  aged  dependents  in  their  own 
families;  how  far  such  support,  if  given,  would  deprive 
young  children  in  the  same  families  of  the  opportunities 
now  afforded  to  them ;  and  how  far,  if  at  all,  there  would 
be  a  reduction  of  the  physical  comforts  now  secured  both 
by  the  aged  persons  and  by  families  who  are  by  the 
present  plan  relieved  of  the  burden  of  their  support.  Such 
facts  as  these  lend  themselves  to  statistical  inquiry. 
There  are  other  more  subtle  but  equally  vital  facts  which 
it  will  be  necessary  to  ascertain.  What  is  the  effect  upon 
young  children  of  the  example  set  by  their  parents,  when 
the  latter  too  easily  throw  off  the  burden  of  caring  for 


CHAP,  vm  REMOVAL  OF  AGED  PERSONS  99 

their  own  aged  parents  or  their  near  relatives  ?  Is  there 
a  social  disadvantage  in  the  policy  of  sacrificing  the  most 
fruitful  and  active  years  in  caring  for  those  who  no 
longer  contribute  to  the  family  income  and  who  are 
of  no  direct  service  ?  In  other  words,  using  the  lan- 
guage of  natural  selection,  will  the  community  which 
merely  from  sentiment  cares  for  its  aged  dependents  by 
uneconomical  methods  compete  successfully  with  the  com- 
munity which  disregards  such  sentiment  and  places  those 
who  are  past  active  service  in  institutions  where  they  can 
be  supported  on  some  uniform,  and  therefore  economical, 
plan  ?  Is  there  a  conflict  between  the  economic  and  moral 
standards,  and,  if  so,  which  should  prevail  ?  If  our  homes 
for  aged  men  and  women  are  found  to  be  as  humane  as, 
and  more  economical  than,  the  plan  of  caring  for  the  aged 
members  of  our  families  at  home,  their  numbers  should 
doubtless  be  increased  and  multiplied.  If  we  reach  the 
conclusion  that  they  should  be  utilized  only  for  those  who 
are  absolutely  without  near  relatives  or  friends  able  to 
care  for  them,  it  may  still  be  necessary  to  increase  their 
number  merely  to  provide  adequately  for  all  persons  who 
are  in  this  unfortunate  position. 

There  is  involved  also  the  relation  which  they  should 
bear  to  the  public  alinshouse.  The  theory  of  almshouse 
administration  has  been  that  the  conditions  must  be  made 
less  attractive  than  the  home  which  the  average  hardwork- 
ing member  of  the  community  can  provide  for  himself  in 
his  old  age.  Otherwise  there  will  be  no  inducement  to 
make  such  provision,  and  the  number  of  those  who  accept 
the  public  bounty  will  tend  constantly  to  increase.  In 
an  ideal  administration  sufficient  discrimination  might  be 
introduced  so  that  those  who  become  public  dependents 
solely  through  misfortune  can  be  surrounded*  with  a 
somewhat  greater  degree  of  comfort  than  is  provided  for 
the  shiftless,  the  intemperate,  and  the  improvident.  It 
would  then  become  a  question  whether  the  almshouse 
thus  conducted  might  not  care  for  all  who  cannot  be  kept 
at  home  by  their  own  relatives,  either  with  or  without 
private  assistance. 

The  actual  situation  in  most  communities  of  the  more 
advanced  states  is  that  there  is  little,  if  any,  formal  classi- 


100  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

fication  in  the  almshouse  ;  although  there  are  in  the  smaller 
almshouses  an  individualizing  of  inmates  and  a  natural 
grouping  according  to  personal  affinities  which  is  better 
than  any  other  classification  could  be,  and  there  is  also 
increased  diversification  among  institutions. 

Within  the  past  twenty -five  years  the  standard  of  com- 
fort in  almshouses  has  steadily  improved,  while  at  the 
same  time  there  is  no  tendency  that  can  be  discovered  to 
increased  abuse  of  the  public  bounty.  In  fact,  there  are 
probably  to-day  fewer  almshouse  inmates  who  should  be 
cared  for  by  their  relatives  than  there  were  a  quarter  of  a 
century  ago,  when  the  discomforts  and  privations  of  the 
almshouse  were  much  greater.  This  fortunate  result  is 
brought  about  by  a  more  general  introduction  of  the  prac- 
tice of  making  some  investigation  when  application  for 
admission  is  made  and  the  exercise  of  wider  discrimi- 
nation both  in  admissions  and  discharges.  The  actual 
population  of  the  almshouse  has  not  only  not  kept  pace 
with  the  increased  population,  but  has,  in  New  York  and 
some  of  the  other  more  populous  states,  actually  dimin- 
ished. This  is,  of  course,  due  in  part  to  the  removal  from 
the  county  almshouses  of  children  and  of  many  special 
classes  of  defectives,  such  as  the  insane,  the  epileptic,  and 
the  feeble-minded,  who  are  now  cared  for  in  state  institu- 
tions; but  even  after  due  allowance  for  this  has  been 
made,  it  still  remains  clear  that  the  increased  decency  and 
comfort  of  the  almshouse  have  not  led  to  increased  pau- 
perization, and  that  it  is  perfectly  possible  for  the  com- 
munity to  provide  adequate  deterrent  checks  against  such 
tendencies  other  than  the  repellent  plan  of  making  the 
almshouse  a  place  of  actual  physical  discomfort  and  pri- 
vation. It  is  probable  that  the  prejudice  against  the  aims- 
house,  while  it  is  useful  in  stimulating  every  possible 
effort  to  avoid  becoming  public  dependents,  has  the 
marked  disadvantage  of  keeping  in  a  state  of  actual  want 
and  suffering  outside  the  almshouse  some  who  would 
be  distinctly  better  off  within  it.  The  duty  of  the 
charitable  would  seem  to  be  to  emphasize  the  fact  that 
it  is  no  disgrace  to  accept  public  care  if  it  is  necessary  ; 
the  disgrace,  where  there  is  any,  lying  only  in  the 
course  of  action  that  leads  to  dependency,  rather  than 


CHAP,  vni       TEMPORARY  REMOVAL  OF  THE   SICK  101 

in  the  particular  method  by  which  that  dependency  is 
relieved. 

There  is  not  sufficient  accommodation  in  the  private 
homes  for  aged  persons  to  receive  all  who  are  entitled  to 
better  care  than  the  almshouse  affords,  nor  is  this  press- 
ure caused  by  a  general  tendency  to  get  rid  of  the 
care  of  the  aged  persons  by  shunting  such  responsibility 
to  the  public  or  to  private  institutions.  In  other  words, 
there  is  still  considerable  margin  for  the  wise  institutional 
care  of  aged  relatives  before  the  danger  point  of  demorali- 
zation is  reached,  and  there  are  doubtless  several  thousand 
persons  in  the  United  States  for  whom  admission  should 
be  secured  either  to  a  well-managed  private  institution  or 
to  a  reformed  and  improved  almshouse,  unless,  indeed,  the 
plan  of  providing  funds  to  pay  the  board  of  these  persons 
in  private  families  is  preferred.  There  is  much  to  be  said 
in  favor  of  this  alternative  ;  but  the  discussion  is  beyond 
the  scope  of  the  present  chapter,  since  in  either  case  the 
beneficiary  would  not  remain  a  member  of  the  family  to 
which  he  naturally  belongs. 

A  similar  series  of  questions  arises  in  regard  to  the 
social  effects  of  medical  institutions,  but  they  are  easily 
answered.  Hospitals,  whether  public  or  private,  homes 
for  convalescents,  and  institutions  for  the  treatment  of 
special  kinds  of  diseases,  such  as  alcoholism,  insanity,  and 
consumption,  do  not  as  a  rule  have  a  tendency  to  break  up 
families  prematurely  or  improperly.  When  the  patient  is 
curable  the  brief  stay  in  a  hospital  or  other  institution,  by 
restoring  health,  permits  a  continuance  of  family  relations. 
One  exception  may  be  noted  in  some  of  the  state  hos- 
pitals for  the  insane  where  there  are  many  slightly  de- 
mented old  people  who  could  be  cared  for  with  perfect 
ease  at  home  or  even  in  the  county  institutions.  The 
high  reputation  of  these  hospitals  is  responsible  for  the 
readiness  of  relatives  to  send  such  patients  to  them. 

Harmless  senile  patients,  who  are  incurable,  may  safely 
and  with  increased  comfort  to  the  patient  as  well  as  with 
greater  economy,  be  boarded  in  carefully  selected  homes 
if  they  do  not  have  relatives  able  to  care  for  them.  Small 
psychopathic  hospitals,  in  which  acutely  insane  persons 
may  be  taken  for  brief  periods  of  observation  and  treat- 


102  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PARTI 

ment,  often  restore  their  patients  to  their  families  without 
the  necessity  for  formal  commitment  to  an  asylum. 

The  essential  feature  of  the  normal  family  is  the  relation 
between  parent  and  child.  Questions  affecting  the  claims 
of  grandparents  and  grandchildren,  and  of  collateral  rela- 
tions frequently  arise,  and  must  be  considered  on  their 
merits.  If  through  long  association  or  special  circum- 
stances such  relatives  become  in  fact  integral  parts  of  the 
family,  their  position  should  be  safeguarded,  but  a  clannish 
superstition  which  demands  great  sacrifices,  possibly  at  the 
expense  of  children,  for  the  sake  of  relatives  who  are  not 
really  part  of  the  family  is  of  doubtful  social  value. 

By  one  serious  menace  is  the  integrity  of  the  family 
endangered.  The  removal  of  children  for  destitution,  for 
ungovernable  conduct,  and  for  improper  guardianship  is  a 
state  policy  which  has  had  an  extraordinary  development, 
especially  in  New  York  and  California,  within  the  past 
generation.  It  is  true  that  there  have  always  been  children 
who,  because  of  the  death  of  their  parents,  because  of  their 
destitution,  or  their  unfitness  for  parental  responsibilities, 
have  required  some  substitute  for  the  natural  protection 
of  their  own  family,  and  it  has  long  been  recognized  that 
children  were  entitled  to  some  protection  at  the  hands  of 
the  state  against  neglect,  even  if  from  their  own  parents. 
In  some  American  communities  the  state  itself  undertakes 
to  provide,  either  in  public  institutions  or  in  foster-homes 
selected  by  itself,  for  those  who  become  public  charges. 
In  the  city  of  New  York  such  children  are,  for  the  most 
part,  cared  for  in  private  institutions,  chiefly  under  the 
control  of  religious  bodies,  but  maintained  under  what  is 
practically  a  contract  with  the  city  at  public  expense.  In 
other  parts  of  the  state  the  same  system  is  in  force, 
although  the  county  authorities  also  place  children  in 
many  instances  in  foster-homes  either  directly  or  through 
societies  which  exist  for  that  purpose. 

From  the  maze  of  complications  and  difficulties  in  which 
the  whole  question  as  to  when  children  should  become 
dependent  is  involved,  a  few  principles  emerge  :  — 

I.  Children  should  remain  with  their  parents  if  the 
latter  are  of  good  character  and  have  sufficient  income 
for  their  support.  Simple  and  obvious  as  this  proposition 


CHAP,  viii  REMOVAL  OF  CHILDREN  103 

appears,  it  has  been  frequently  violated  in  the  past,  and  in 
the  city  of  New  York  its  violation  has  been  so  widespread 
and  continued  as  to  create  in  the  minds  of  many  residents 
and,  in  rare  instances,  even  in  the  minds  of  future  immi- 
grants beyond  the  seas,  the  idea  that,  by  coming  here  and 
putting  themselves  into  relations  with  the  proper  persons, 
it  will  be  possible  for  them  to  rid  themselves  of  the  ex- 
pense and  burden  of  looking  after  their  children.  The 
rules  of  the  State  Board  of  Charities,  under  which  children 
are  now  received  and  retained  in  public  institutions,  and 
the  action  of  the  Department  of  Public  Charities  under 
those  rules,  have  checked  this  tendency  to  some  extent, 
but  have  by  no  means  eradicated  it. 

II.  Parents    who    are    of    good    character,    but 
without  assistance,  cannot  earn  enough  to  support 
children  at  home,  should,  as  a  rule,  receive  such  assist- 
ance,  and   the  breaking  up  of   the   family  should   thus 
be  averted.     In  1898  the  Charity  Organization  Society  of 
the  city  of  New  York  inaugurated  a  plan  by  which  a  rep- 
resentative of  the  society  called  daily  at  the  office  of  the 
Department  of  Public  Charities  to  examine  the  applica- 
tions which  had  there  been  made  for  the  commitment  of 
children  on  the  ground  of  destitution,  and  after  necessary 
inquiries,  to  select  those  who  might  appropriately  be  aided 
at  home,  as  an  alternative  to  this  separation  of  mother  and 
children.     The  result  of  this  experience,  set  forth  in  the 
succeeding   annual  reports   of  the  society,  demonstrates 
beyond  possible  controversy  that  assistance  can  wisely  be 
provided  from  private  sources  for  a  considerable  number 
of  such  families. 

III.  If  children  are  removed  because  their  parents  are 
morally  unfit  guardians  for  them,  this  removal  should  be 
unconditional.     There  should  be  no  hesitation  in  trans- 
ferring   the    legal    guardianship    in    such    cases ;    there 
should  be  usually  no  opportunity  for  intercourse  between 
parent  and  child,  and  no  obstacle  should  be  placed  in  the 
way  of  such  disposition  of  the  child  as  is  best  for  its  own 
welfare.     Without  passing  at  present  upon  the  relative 
merits  of  institutional  care  and  the  system  of  placing  out 
children  in  families,  it  is  clear  that  whichever  is  best  for 
the  child  should,  in  cases  of  improper  guardianship,  be 


104  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  i 

adopted  with  the  least  possible  delay.  The  care  provided 
by  the  state  should  continue  as  long  as  the  interests  of  the 
child  require,  and  should  not  be  influenced  by  the  impor- 
tunities of  relatives.  Increased  precautions  are  doubtless 
necessary  not  to  remove  children  upon  this  charge  unless 
the  facts  warrant  it,  as  the  danger  of  injustice  both  to 
parent  and  child  is  always  present ;  but  if,  after  careful 
review  of  the  circumstances,  a  court  decides  that  the 
parents  are  unfit  to  care  for  it  because  of  moral  depravity, 
or  that  the  child  is  living  under  degrading  conditions,  the 
child  should  be  so  disposed  of  as  to  prevent  the  effective 
claim  to  the  services  of  the  child  as  soon  as  he  is  old 
enough  to  have  a  money  value  to  the  parent  who  has  been 
declared  to  be  an  unfit  guardian. 

IV.  If   children   are    removed   because   of    their   own 
incorrigible  conduct,  the  expense  of  their  maintenance  in 
a  disciplinary  institution  should  be  borne  by  their  parents, 
and  the  period  of  their  detention  should  be  as  short  as  is 
consistent  with  the  objects  in  view  when  commitment  is 
made.     This   involves  the  principle  of  an  indeterminate 
sentence,  since  the  temporary  guardians  will  be  the  best 
judges  as  to  when  the  conduct  of  the  child  is  sufficiently 
improved  to  warrant  his  return  to  his  parents.     Neither 
incorrigible  conduct  nor  improper  guardianship,  however, 
should  be  used  as  a  mere  cloak  to  enable  parents  to  shift 
the  burden  of  caring  for  their  children  upon  the  city  ;  nor 
should  a  child  committed  as  ungovernable    be    retained 
merely  because  the  parents  are  believed  to  be  unfit  guar- 
dians.    If,  when  the  question  of  discharging  the  child  arises, 
the  unfitness  of  parents  to  care  for  their  children  is  called 
into  question,  this  should  be  definitely  passed  upon  by  a 
court,  and  if  they  are  unfit,  because  of  viciousness  or  im- 
morality,  appropriate  action  should  be  taken  upon  this 
basis. 

V.  Orphans,  abandoned  children,  the  whereabouts  of 
whose   parents   are   unknown,    and   others  who   for   any 
exceptional  reason  may  be  treated  without  regard  to  their 
parents  or  other  relatives,  do  not  raise  any  question  as  to 
the  breaking  up  of  a  family,  and,  as  in  the  case  of  children 
whose  parents  are  pronounced  unfit  guardians,  they  may  be 
cared  for  by  whatever  methods  are  believed  to  be  best  for 


CHAP,  vni          THE   TLACE   OF  THE   INSTITUTION  105 

themselves.  If,  however,  there  are  older  children  able  to 
make  a  home  for  their  younger  brothers  and  sisters,  it 
may  be,  and  often  is,  expedient  to  keep  the  family  together, 
as  in  the  case  of  parents  of  good  character. 

VI.  The  children  of  destitute  parents  for  whom  no 
adequate  private  assistance  is  forthcoming,  in  a  com- 
munity which  has  no  public  outdoor  relief,  must  neces- 
sarily be  cared  for  either  in  institutions  where  they  may 
be  placed  by  their  parents,  or  by  a  system  of  boarding  in 
private  families,  without  legal  adoption  or  other  transfer 
of  guardianship  from  the  parents.  The  latter  have  done 
nothing  to  sacrifice  their  claim  upon  the  children,  and  yet 
the  children  cannot  be  permitted  to  suffer.  Theoretically 
this  is  the  class  of  children  for  whose  sake  chiefly  the  great 
institutional  system  of  New  York  City  has  grown  up.  The 
managers  of  those  institutions,  having  in  mind  children  of 
this  class,  indignantly  and  with  some  justification  deny  that 
their  institutions  have  a  tendency  to  break  up  families. 
In  their  eyes  the  institution  is  like  a  hospital,  in  that  it 
provides  temporary  care  for  one  who  will  shortly  be 
restored  to  the  family,  but  for  whom  proper  provision  can- 
not at  the  moment  be  made.  As  the  children  of  the  well- 
to-do  are  sent  to  the  boarding  school,  so  the  children  of  the 
poor  are  sent  to  the  only  place  where  corresponding  oppor- 
tunities are  provided  by  the  city  for  the  poor. 

There  is  a  definite  place  for  the  institution  in  the  care 
of  some  of  the  children  of  this  class  as  well  as  in  the  care 
of  children  who  are  ungovernable,  and  for  the  temporary 
care  of  children  whose  parents  are  unfit  guardians,  and 
who  should  eventually  be  placed  in  foster-homes  so  far  as 
good  homes  can  be  provided.  Private  charity  should  re- 
duce the  number  of  children  committed  solely  for  desti- 
tution as  far  as  possible,  and  only  the  remainder,  who  for 
exceptional  reasons  cannot  be  aided  at  home,  should  be- 
come public  charges.  The  commitment  of  children  for 
destitution  does  sometimes  lead  to  the  breaking  up  of 
the  family,  and  it  should  be  avoided  whenever  the  defi- 
ciency in  family  income  can  be  made  good  without  injury 
to  parents  or  children.  There  are  instances  in  which  the 
temporary  care  of  children  in  institutions  during  a  period 
of  illness  or  other  misfortune  really  has  the  effect  in  the 


106  PRINCIPLES   OF   BELIEF  PART  i 

long  run  of  keeping  the  family  intact,  and  full  recognition 
of  this  public  service  should  be  made.  The  danger,  how- 
ever, that  the  separation  will  be  extended  beyond  the 
period  for  which  it  is  justified,  and  the  disadvantages  of 
even  a  brief  separation  of  children  from  their  parents  and 
their  reception  into  a  large  institution  where  their  indi- 
viduality is  lost  sight  of,  should  also  be  recognized.  The 
breaking  up  of  families  by  the  removal  of  children  for 
insufficient  reasons,  the  accompanying  loss  of  a  sense  of 
responsibility  on  the  part  of  parents,  failure  on  the  part 
of  parents  to  make  even  reasonable  efforts  to  care  for 
offspring,  the  desertion  of  families  in  order  to  secure  the 
commitment  of  children,  the  refusal  of  near  relatives 
other  than  parents  to  play  their  part  in  the  carrying  of 
burdens  of  this  kind,  and  the  easy-going  complaisance 
of  public  officials  in  accepting  as  public  charges  those 
for  whom  other  provisions  should  be  made  —  these  are 
serious  evils,  constituting  a  public  menace,  which  in  many 
communities  a  few  courageous,  high-minded,  public-spirited 
citizens  are  vigorously  and  effectively  combating. 


CHAPTER  IX 

DEPENDENT   CHILDREN 

To  preserve  a  normal  family  life  for  growing  children, 
to  keep  children,  even  with  sacrifices  and  even  by  external 
relief,  with  their  own  parents  when  they  are  fit  guardians, 
and  to  prevent  the  breaking  up  of  any  family  until  the 
evidence  is  clear  that  the  physical  and  spiritual  welfare  of 
one  or  more  of  its  members  make  it  absolutely  necessary, 
are  primary  considerations  of  a  sound  relief  policy.  Such 
efforts,  however,  will  not  always  prove  successful.  Un- 
fortunately there  are  parents  who  are  demonstrably  unfit 
to  rear  the  children  whom  they  have  brought  into  the 
world;  there  are  orphan  children  for  whom  no  home  offers 
with  near  relatives  and  for  whom  the  parents  have  made 
no  provision.  There  are  children  whose  parents  or  natu- 
ral guardians  are  disabled  by  illness,  not  only  from  earning 
their  support,  but  from  giving  them  such  care  as  would 
justify  material  relief.  There  are  instances  in  which  a 
widow  with  many  children  may  more  wisely  submit  to  the 
removal  of  one  or  more  to  enable  her  to  care  for  the  re- 
mainder with  or  without  aid,  although,  as  has  been  pointed 
out,  the  presumption  is  in  favor  of  the  family's  remaining 
intact,  if  this  is  possible. 

Death,  sickness,  abuse,  neglect,  or  sheer  inability  may 
therefore,  here  or  there,  leave  to  the  community  the  re- 
sponsibility for  the  care  of  dependent  children.  In  primi-  . 
tive  communities  either  of  two  courses  is  likely  to  be 
followed.  Exposure  and  hardships  may  lead  to  the  death 
of  a  large  proportion  of  such  orphaned  or  neglected  chil- 
dren, leaving  but  a  remnant  of  exceptionally  tough  fibre 
to  survive,  or  they  may  be  taken  in  by  neighbors  to  become 
virtually  integral  members  of  the  family  which  thus  for- 
mally or  informally  adopts  them.  Numerous  instances 

107 


108  PRINCIPLES  OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

might  readily  be  cited  of  the  adoption  by  kind-hearted 
neighbors  of  whole  families  of  children  with  or  without 
some  claim  of  relationship.  When,  for  any  reason,  the 
number  becomes  noticeably  large,  the  church  or  private 
individuals  are  likely -to  establish  homes  in  which  such 
children  are  gathered  for  education  and  maintenance,  and 
finally  the  support  of  such  asylums  is  apt  to  be  undertaken 
in  whole  or  in  part  by  the  state.  Childless  families  de- 
siring young  children  for  adoption,  or  those  who  wish  to 
secure  inexpensive  service,  giving  maintenance  as  com- 
pensation, repair  to  these  asylums,  and  a  system  of  inden- 
ture or  placing  out  grows  up  as  a  means  of  disposing  of  the 
children  who  come  into  the  asylums.  In  some  instances 
the  managers  of  the  orphan  asylums  take  the  initiative, 
and  seek  homes  of  a  suitable  kind  for  their  children  at 
whatever  age  they  deem  suitable.  Eventually  there  arise 
societies  for  the  express  purpose  of  placing  children  in 
foster-homes,  and  these  societies  may  either  maintain  a 
small  home  for  the  temporary  care  of  children  until  they 
are  suitably  placed,  or,  as  in  a  few  instances,  they  may 
adopt  a  plan  of  boarding  their  children  in  private  families, 
pending  a  more  permanent  disposition. 

The  institutional  care  of  children  has  been  marked  in 
the  past  by  notable  philanthropic  endowments  and  large 
annual  gifts,  by  religious  zeal,  and  by  remarkable  personal 
devotion.  The  introduction  of  a  system  of  subsidies  from 
the  public  treasury,  which  has  later  in  some  instances  been 
modified  into  what  is  virtually  a  system  of  contract  pay- 
ments by  the  state  or  one  of  its  minor  civil  divisions  on  a 
per  capita  and  per  diem  basis,  has  had  the  effect  of  les- 
sening private  contributions,  and  when  not  held  rigidly  in 
check  by  some  plan  of  supervision  on  the  part  of  the  state, 
has  led  to  an  abnormal  growth  in  the  number  of  institu- 
tional children. 

The  drift  toward  an  excessive  institutional  population 
of  children  is  checked  by  three  distinct  influences,  the  ab- 
sence of  any  one  of  which  may  be  regarded  as  an  indication 
of  a  low  standard  of  responsibility  for  child  life.  The 
first  of  these  is  the  appreciation  of  the  value  of  the  normal 
family  life  to  which  attention  has  repeatedly  been  called. 
The  second  is  the  tendency  to  develop  alternative,  and 


CHAP,  ix          THE   GROWTH   OF   INSTITUTIONALISE!  109 

even  a  variety  of  methods,  some  of  which  will  be  more  or 
less  experimental  in  character,  for  helping  children  who 
are  deprived  of  parental  care.  Human  nature  revolts  at 
the  attempt  to  force  a  multitude  of  children,  made  depend- 
ent for  a  great  variety  of  reasons,  into  a  single  channel, 
and  to  assume  that  a  single  method  of  dealing  with  them 
is  necessarily  better  than  others  which  can  be  devised. 
This  feeling  will  show  itself  in  the  adoption  of  makeshifts 
for  individual  children,  full  of  danger  it  may  be,  but  giving 
to  the  exceptional  child  an  opportunity  for  the  natural 
development  of  his  individuality.  Then  clubs  and  other 
definite  plans  spring  up,  societies  for  educational  ends,  for 
physical  recreation,  for  providing  employment  and  other 
special  purposes  come  into  existence.  The  institutions 
under  the  pressure  of  outside  competition  and  under  the 
guidance  of  managers  of  greater  than  average  initiative 
and  individuality,  differentiate  among  themselves,  and  the 
word  "institution"  finally  comes  to  stand  for  agencies 
which  differ  as  greatly  among  themselves  as  from  the  out- 
side agencies. 

The  third  consideration  is  the  desire  on  the  part  of  the 
average  citizen  and  taxpayer  to  economize  in  the  expen- 
diture- of  public  funds,  and  to  be  assured  of  a  maximum 
return  for  expenditures  that  are  made.  It  is  observed 
that  under  a  lax  administration  there  is  a  temptation  to 
parents  to  give  up  their  children  for  a  few  years  during 
which  they  are  a  financial  burden,  and  on  the  part  of  col- 
lateral relatives  to  shift  readily  to  the  state  the  task 
which,  if  no  provision  were  made  or  if  it  were  strictly  ad- 
ministered, would  be  undertaken  by  themselves.  Either 
institutions  or  placing-out  agencies  when  paid  upon  a  per 
capita  basis  for  their  services  are  likely  to  regard  an  in- 
crease in  their  numbers  as  neither  objectionable  nor  alarm- 
ing, contrasting  the  condition  of  those  for  whom  they  care 
with  the  more  obvious  instances  of  neglect  and  hardship 
in  the  period  before  the  children  reach  them.  It  is  natural 
to  regard  easy  admissions  as  charitable  and  humane. 
Private  citizens  or  state  officials  intrusted  with  financial 
responsibility  are  generally  the  first  to  discover  that  there 
is  another  side,  that  a  policy  of  indifference  on  the  part  of 
the  state  may  readily  result  in  the  acceptance  of  many 


110  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  I 

who  would  better  be  with  their  own  parents,  or  for  whom 
provision  can  be  made  by  friends  or  relatives,  or  who,  if 
admitted  at  all,  need  remain  only  for  very  brief  periods. 

These  three  considerations,  therefore, — the  financial,  the 
desire  to  discover  new,  and  possibly  better,  methods,  and 
the  natural  preference  for  normal  family  life, — may  be 
counted  upon  to  counteract  the  development  of  great 
institutions.  Aside  from  the  inertia  which  causes  a  com- 
munity to  remain  satisfied  with  an  institutional  system 
when  it  once  exists,  and  the  opportunity  which  arises  to 
create  a  monument  by  endowments  or  other  benefactions 
which  may  take  the  form  of  a  building  and  facilities  for 
caring  for  children,  the  most  important  factor  in  the  growth 
of  institutions  has  been  the  religious  element.  It  is  easy 
in  the  institution  to  organize  definite  religious  instruction, 
and  to  make  upon  the  minds  of  the  children  in  the  forma- 
tive period  definite  religious  impressions.  In  the  absence 
of  a  state  religion  and  of  any  power  on  the  part  of  the 
state  to  dictate  a  religious  profession,  there  has,  neverthe- 
less, been  a  general  recognition  that  religious  instruction 
cannot  be  ignored,  and  that  the  state  is  justified  in  going 
so  far  as  to  provide  that  an  orphan  child  may  be  placed 
by  the  state  in  a  religious  institution  managed  by  those 
who  are  of  the  same  general  faith  as  the  child's  parents. 
When  this  principle  has  once  been  recognized,  it  inevitably 
leads  to  a  rapid  development  of  institutions  of  markedly 
religious  character,  and  to  a  demand  on  the  part  of  the 
churches  that  neglected  and  orphaned  children  shall  be 
gathered  into  them,  partly  in  order  that  their  physical 
welfare  may  be  the  better  cared  for,  but  chiefly  that  their 
spiritual  salvation  shall  be  as  far  as  possible  assured. 

To  counteract  the  tendency  toward  an  increase  of  insti- 
tutional population  arising  from  this  motive,  the  obvious 
policy  on  the  part  of  those  who  prefer  placing  out  in  fam- 
ilies would  be  to  recognize  the  same  principle  in  the  plac- 
ing out  of  children.  If  children  were  placed  in  families 
of  their  own  religious  faith  or  that  of  their  parents,  and  if 
after  being  placed  there  were  proper  supervision  both  of 
secular  and  of  religious  education,  the  religious  motive 
would  cease  to  operate  in  favor  of  institutions.  Placing- 
out  agencies  have  been  curiously  reluctant  to  recognize 


CHAP,  ix  RELIGIOUS   RIGHTS  111 

this,  or  to  place  due  emphasis  upon  it.  The  argument 
in  favor  of  the  requirement  which  is  now  frequently  em- 
bodied in  statute  that  children  who  are  to  be  placed  in 
foster-homes  shall,  if  practicable,  be  placed  in  homes  of  their 
own  religious  faith  or  that  of  their  parents  is  based,  of 
course,  not  upon  the  interests  of  the  churches  but  upon 
the  welfare  of  the  child.  It  is  not  that  the  state  is  power- 
less to  choose  and  therefore  resorts  to  this  expedient  in  des- 
peration. It  is  accepted  for  the  reason  that  it  is  found  in 
experience  not  advisable  that  a  .radical  change  should  be 
made  in  the  religious  environment  of  the  growing  child. 
Children  who  are  old  enough  to  have  received  definite 
religious  impressions,  when  suddenly  placed  under  condi- 
tions in  which  the  ideas  and  forms  to  which  they  have 
been  accustomed  are  looked  upon  with  indifference  or 
with  contempt,  do  not  as  a  rule  discard  them  and  adopt 
new  ones,  although  they  would  readily  have  adopted  the 
latter  had  they  known  no  others.  They  are  likely  on  the 
contrary  only  to  lose  their  own  faint  but  tender  impres- 
sions, and  to  attain  no  effective  substitute  for  them.  This 
applies  less,  it  is  true,  or  not  at  all,  to  very  young  children, 
but  it  is  applicable  to  so  large  a  proportion  of  the  total 
number  who  are  placed  out  that  it  may  wisely  be  accepted 
as  a  general  rule  of  action.  Respect  for  parental  rights 
may  also  have  weight,  although  more  emphasis  has  been 
placed  upon  this  than  it  deserves.  Parents  have  the  right 
to  bring  up  their  own  children  in  accordance  with  their 
own  ideas,  and  are  guaranteed  freedom  of  worship  for 
themselves  and  their  children,  but  there  is  no  inalienable 
post-mortem  right  to  have  one's  religious  faith  perpet- 
uated in  his  children  at  the  expense  of  others;  and  in  the 
case  of  neglected  or  orphaned  children  for  whom  responsi- 
bility must  be  assumed  by  the  state,  the  latter  must  be 
considered  free  to  adopt  whatever  policies  are  approved 
by  experience. 

Assuming  proper  inspection  of  admissions  and  dis- 
charges and  vigilance  in  enforcing  the  legal,  and  as  far  as 
possible  insisting  upon  the  moral,  obligation  of  parents  and 
relatives  to  support  their  children,  there  may  still  remain 
in  populous  communities  a  large  aggregate  number  of  chil- 
dren for  whom  provision  must  be  made  either  in  institu- 


112  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

tions  or  in  foster-homes  found  for  them  by  state  officials  or 
organized  agencies.  Against  the  placing-out  system  has 
been  urged  the  notorious  laxity  in  selecting  homes,  with 
which  some  societies  and  institutions  have  frequently  been 
charged,  and  the  absence  of  efficient  supervision  in  children 
who  have  once  been  placed.  As  a  natural  result  it  has  been 
practicable  for  unscrupulous  persons  to  obtain  children 
for  improper  motives  and  to  exact  unrecompensed  labor 
from  them  with  impunity.  It  is  also  alleged  that  the 
system  has  lent  itself  to  proselyting  on  a  large  scale, 
especially  to  the  placing  of  neglected  Catholic  children 
from  the  great  cities  in  Protestant  rural  homes.  Both  of 
these  charges,  however,  relate  to  incidental  abuses  of 
the  system  rather  than  to  essential  features.  As  a, matter 
of  fact,  under  pressure  from  the  state  boards  of  charities 
and  other  outside  sources,  and  by  the  voluntary  adop- 
tion of  more  approved  methods,  agencies  that  have,  been 
engaged  in  placing  children  in  foster-homes  have  freed 
themselves  to  a  great  extent  from  just  criticism  in  these 
particulars. 

Two  objections,  which  go  more  nearly  to  the  foundation 
of  the  placing-out  system,  may  be  urged.  In  effect  the 
placing-out  system  is  an  attempt  to  transfer  the  burden  of 
dependency  from  the  cities  to  agricultural  communities. 
Applications,  it  is  true,  are  received  from  villages  and 
smaller  towns,  but  at  least  to  some  extent  the  placing-out 
system  may  be  looked  upon  as  a  part  of  the  movement 
back  to  the  land.  In  so  far  as  it  is  a  part  of  this 
movement,  it  represents  a  transitional  and  a  rapidly 
disappearing  phase  of  national  life.  The  burden  of  de- 
pendence cannot  in  the  long  run  be  shifted  success- 
fully in  this  manner  from  a  commercial  and  industrial 
community  to  one  that  is  agricultural.  While  many  chil- 
dren for  whom  homes  could  be  found  are  healthy  in  mind 
and  body  and  are  of  good  family  stock,  many  others  are 
in  a  degree  dependent  because  of  crime  or  indulgence, 
physical  weakness,  or  inefficiency  on  the  part  of  parents, 
traces  of  which  are  likely,  sooner  or  later,  to  be  discovered 
in  the  offspring.  Some  of  the  children  have  already  come 
to  be  classed  as  incorrigible  or  are  abnormal  mentally  or 
physically,  but  even  those  who  are  most  attractive  and 


CHAP,  ix  OBJECTIONS   TO   PLACING-OUT  113 

desirable  must  pass  through  an  unproductive  period  in 
which  they  are  an  economic  burden,  with  comparatively 
little  assurance  that  they  will  remain  after  they  have 
turned  the  balance  and  are  contributing  to  the  family 
income  more  than  their  cost.  It  may  be  that  children  in 
the  family  ought  not  to  be  considered  a  burden.  It  may 
be  that  the  compensations  from  the  very  beginning  out- 
weigh the  costs,  and  yet  in  the  majority  of  cases  of 
adopted  children  it  is  certain  that  there  is  a  financial 
burden,  and  that  an  appeal  must  be  made  to  the  charitable 
impulse,  or  to  the  sense  of  loneliness  on  account  of  the 
loss  of  an  own  child,  or  to  the  prospect  of  partial  rec- 
ompense by  services  in  later  years. 

Several  states,  finding  that  children  who  have  been 
brought  from  distant  cities  have  later  become  public 
charges  or  inmates  of  reformatories,  have  passed  laws 
regulating  the  placing-out  of  children  by  foreign  societies 
or  non-residents,  in  some  instances  requiring  local  incor- 
poration or  the  giving  of  a  bond  to  insure  that  a  child 
who  becomes  a  public  charge  will  be  received  by  the  one 
who  has  placed  it.  This  is  but  one,  although  the  clearest, 
indication  that  methods  must  be  devised,  whether  institu- 
tional or  of  the  placing-out  type,  that  will  enable  children 
to  be  cared  for  within  the  community  in  which  they  have 
become  dependent,  that  the  larger  wealth  of  the  cities 
must  in  some  way  offset  directly  the  greater  burden  of 
dependency,  that  in  so  far  as  dependency  in  children  is  a 
result  of  social  maladjustments  and  abuses,  these  must  be 
corrected  where  they  exist ;  and  as  a  means  to  that  end 
that  their  results  shall  be  fully  realized  by  those  who 
reside  where  they  occur.  In  the  long  run  the  community 
which  has  a  higher  standard  of  family  life  and  a  greater 
margin  of  average  comfort  does  not  render  a  kindness  to 
the  community  in  which  there  is  a  greater  amount  of 
misery  and  distress  by  removing  individuals  and  relieving 
the  less  fortunate  community  from  the  consequences  of  its 
own  shortcomings.  Surplus  gifts  from  the  community 
which  is  in  the  happier  state  may  indeed  be  used  to 
correct  the  evils  in  neighboring,  or  even  distant,  regions, 
but  there  should  be  no  levelling  down,  and  no  such 
shifting  of  burdens  and  injuries  as  will  endanger  the 


114  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

higher  standard.  On  the  other  hand  placing-out  agencies 
as  they  develop  and  extend  their  activities  are  likely  to 
accept  an  increasing  number  of  charges  from  country  and 
village  homes ;  and  if  dependent  children,  whatever  their 
origin,  are  boarded  at  the  expense  of  the  state  or  of  private 
charity  there  is  a  due  equivalent  for  whatever  economic 
burden  is  transferred. 

A  second  objection  of  an  even  more  vital  character  is 
that  the  attempt  to  find  an  indefinite  number  of  private 
families  for  the  children  who  are  charges  upon  organized 
charity,  or  upon  public  relief,  ignores  the  well-founded 
modern  tendency  toward  the  increased  employment  of 
professional  skill.  To  care  for  dependent  children  is  a 
more  difficult  task  than  to  care  for  the  normal  children  of 
an  average  family,  difficult  as  this  also  is.  Oftentimes 
essential  qualities  are  lacking  in  the  child,  and  it  is  a  mat- 
ter requiring  extraordinary  experience  and  skill  to  develop 
them.  A  trained  expert  is  needed  to  detect  the  traces  of 
abnormality  and  degeneracy.  Even  for  the  child  who  is 
entirely  normal  there  must  be  found  some  substitute  for 
the  painstaking  attention  which  fathers  and  mothers  may 
naturally  be  expected  to  give  to  the  development  of  their 
offspring. 

The  trained  nurse  and  the  trained  kindergartner  have 
assumed  duties  which  in  the  ordinary  family  were  for- 
merly universally  performed  by  parents.  It  is  recognized 
that  maternal  affection  is  less  potent  than  training  and 
professional  skill  even  in  such  delicate  tasks  as  those  which 
are  now  frequently  transferred  for  a  consideration  to  the 
nurse  in  illness  and  to  the  kindergartner  in  the  period  at 
the  beginning  of  elementary  instruction.  There  is  a  similar 
place  which  must  be  filled  by  some  efficient  representative 
of  the  community  in  the  development  and  oversight  and 
care  of  dependent  children.  The  assumption  that  this  care 
can  best  be  given  by  childless  married  couples  who  have  a 
great  variety  of  reasons  for  desiring  to  adopt  children,  or 
by  families  in  which,  whatever  the  number  of  children, 
there  is  felt  to  be  room  for  one  or  more  foster-children  in 
addition,  is  an  assumption  which  requires  for  its  success- 
ful support  experience  on  a  large  scale  and  through  an  ex- 
tended period.  The  probabilities  would  appear  to  lie  in 


CHAP,  ix    DEVELOPMENT   OF  PROFESSIONAL   SKILL  115 

the  other  direction.  It  would  seem  as  if  in  an  institution 
where  experiences  can  be  more  readily  compared  and  de- 
ductions made  from  the  observation  of  a  large  number  of 
children,  there  could  be  developed  that  trained  skill  and 
scientific  grasp  of  the  subject  that  are  essential.  The 
family  in  which  parents  are  rearing  and  caring  for  their 
own  offspring  is  the  natural  social  unit.  The  relation 
between  foster-parent  and  placed-out  child,  when  this  rela- 
tion is  established  by  a  third  individual  or  a  society  organ- 
ized for  the  purpose,  is  a  less  natural  one,  and  there  is  little 
argument  by  analogy  in  its  behalf  based  upon  the  normal 
family.  The  community  is  compelled,  under  modern  con- 
ditions, to  face,  practically  as  if  it  were  a  new  problem, 
the  task  of  fitting  the  dependent  child  into  his  place  as  a 
self-supporting  and  self-respecting  member  of  the  indus- 
trial and  social  organization.  If  the  institutions  for  the 
maintenance  and  education  of  children  have  not  been  of  a 
character  to  perform  this  task  with  complete  satisfaction 
in  the  past,  it  is,  in  view  of  the  considerations  that  have 
last  been  urged,  a  duty  to  consider  whether  they  cannot 
be  so  modified  and  improved  as  to  fit  them  more  ade- 
quately to  perform  it.  It  will  simplify  the  problem  if  it 
be  granted  that  what  can  reasonably  be  expected  is  not  the 
production  of  geniuses  or  of  exceptionally  endowed  indi- 
viduals, save  in  rare  instances  for  which  no  plan  can  be 
consciously  devised,  but  rather  the  bringing  of  those  who 
are  thrown  upon  charity  fairly  into  the  ranks  of  self-sup- 
porting citizens.  We  may  hope  to  bring  them  to  a  place 
where  they  are  no  longer  social  debtors,  but  may  be  con- 
tent, if,  by  accomplishing  so  much  as  this,  the  actual 
pauperism  existing  in  the  community  is  so  far  reduced,  as 
well  as  the  number  who  are  likely  to  become  criminals, 
and  thus  a  double  burden  upon  the  community  measurably 
reduced. 

In  reply  to  this  objection  it  may  be  urged  that  those 
who  are  engaged  in  placing  out  children,  and  especially 
such  as  supplement  their  free  homes  by  a  system  of  board- 
ing homes  for  wayward  children  and  for  those  who  are 
later  to  be  returned  to  their  parents,  are,  equally  with 
institutions,  developing  special  skill  and  expert  knowledge. 
While  there  is  much  truth  in  this  it  can  hardly  be  claimed 


116  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

that  the  foster-parents,  who  are  the  ones  that  are  most 
continuously  in  contact  with  the  children,  can  be  expected 
to  devote  their  energies  exclusively  to  the  problems  in- 
volved in  the  care  of  children,  as  do  even  the  subordinate 
employees  of  institutions.  The  officers  and  agents  of  the 
placing-out  society  may  well  become  experts,  but  after  all 
the  direct  responsibility  for  training  and  caring  for  the 
children  does  not  fall  upon  them. 

Institutionalism  has  also  its  pronounced  evils.  Aside 
from  its  tendency  to  abnormal  growth  and  the  danger  of 
resorting  to  it  in  demonstrably  unsuitable  cases,  both  of 
which  dangers  may  be  guarded  against,  there  are  inherent 
dangers  in  institutional  life  even  for  those  who  are  prop- 
erly  accepted  as  charges  upon  the  state  or  upon  private 
philanthropy.  Institutionalism  is  denned  by  R.  R.  Reeder, 
superintendent  of  the  New  York  Orphan  Asylum,  as  "  a 
combination  of  rote,  routine,  and  dead  levelism  " ;  as  "  law 
and  coercion,  without  liberty  or  individual  initiative." 
Mr.  Reeder's  ironical  advice  to  those  in  charge  of  institu- 
tions is  "to  employ  people  who  have  had  experience  in 
institutionalism,  for  they  are  more  certain  to  have  studied 
the  best  methods  of  properly  suppressing  the  child,  so  that 
he  will  give  a  minimum  of  trouble  " ;  and  to  remember 
that  "  the  more  the  child  is  suppressed  the  less  dynamic 
he  is  and  the  less  liable  to  break  through  your  well-articu- 
lated and  grooved  system."  The  mere  fact  that  this  sys- 
tematic suppression  and  reliance  upon  routine  methods  is 
dubbed  institutionalism  is  an  indication  that  institutions 
have  a  tendency  to  err  in  these  directions.  Indeed,  it  is 
freely  charged  by  those  who  have  had  exceptionally  good 
opportunities  for  observation,  that  it  is  almost  impossible 
to  conduct  an  institution  of  any  considerable  size  on  any 
other  plan.  The  superintendent  of  one  large  institution 
casually  remarked,  in  answer  to  a  question  as  to  what  he 
did  with  boys  who  were  about  to  leave  the  institution  after 
an  average  stay  of  five  or  six  years,  that  he  then  began  to 
study  their  individual  tastes  and  inclinations,  that,  in  fact, 
it  was  "  really  necessary  when  a  boy  got  to  be  fourteen  or 
fifteen  years  of  age  that  he  should  be  individualized." 
This  implies,  of  course,  that  the  thousands  of  children 
passing  through  this  particular  institution  are  not  indi- 


CHAP,  ix  OBJECTIONS  TO   INSTITUTIONS  117 

vidualized  until  this  stage,  unless  the  superintendent  did 
himself  and  his  institution  a  grave  injustice ;  that  thou- 
sands of  children  are  treated  en  masse  until  the  problem 
arises  of  fitting  them  into  some  position  on  their  discharge. 
There  is  obviously  a  wide  and  deep  gulf  between  such  a 
system  and  the  sense  of  responsibility  felt  by  a  conscien- 
tious father  for  the  development  of  the  personality  of  his 
sons  and  daughters,  or  the  love  of  a  mother  for  her  indi- 
vidual children. 

It  is  said  that  children  come  out  of  institutions  almost 
wholly  unfamiliar  with  the  thousand  proficiencies  and  ac- 
complishments which  the  boy  at  home,  on  the  street,  or  in 
an  ordinary  school  picks  up  as  a  matter  of  course.  The 
institutional  child  does  not  learn  how  to  handle  matches 
with  safety,  because  the  electric  light  or  the  gas  is  always 
adjusted  by  some  employee  of  the  institution  who  is 
assigned  to  this  duty.  He  does  not  learn  the  value  of 
money,  because  purchases  are  made  by  steward  or  superin- 
tendent, and  the  procedure  is  wholly  removed  from  the 
personal  knowledge  of  the  inmates.  There  is  no  analogy 
between  the  transactions  of  the  institution  and  those  of 
the  ordinary  wage-earning  family,-  and  the  children  have 
no  means  of  becoming  acquainted  with  either.  Protection 
from  fire,  from  accident,  and  from  illness  are  matters 
which  concern  the  authorities  of  the  institution,  whereas 
in  an  ordinary  family  the  responsibility  for  such  things  is 
shared  to  some  extent  by  the  different  members  of  the 
family,  and  increasingly  by  the  children  as  they  grow 
older.  A  manager  of  one  comparatively  small  institution 
relates  that  when  a  group  of  boys  from  the  institution  was 
skating  on  an  ice  pond,  and  one  of  them  being  separated 
from  the  others  broke  through  and  was  in  danger  of 
drowning,  his  associates  were  helpless,  being  confronted 
by  a  situation  which  had  no  analogy  in  their  previous  ex- 
periences, and,  incredible  as  it  appears,  turned  their  backs 
to  walk  toward  the  institution ;  while  some  boys  of  the 
neighboring  village,  no  older  than  those  from  the  institu- 
tion, seeing  from  a  distance  what  had  happened,  ran  to  the 
spot  and  rescued  the  drowning  boy.  A  dentist  who  had  a 
considerable  practice  in  a  large  institution  was  struck  by 
the  comparative  docility  of  those  children  and  their  ready 


118  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

submission  to  whatever  pain  his  operations  made  neces- 
sary, and  this  he  attributed  to  their  drill  in  accepting 
quietly  whatever  experiences  came  to  them  and  the  sense 
of  futility  of  resistance  which  had  been  implanted.  The 
suppression  of  exceptional  characteristics  because  of  the 
trouble  which  they  cause,  the  failure  to  awaken  any  sense 
of  responsibility  or  power  of  exercising  rational  indepen- 
dent choice  or  of  forming  sound  judgment,  and  the  absence 
of  opportunity  to  acquire  those  fundamental  conceptions 
which  together  enable  one  to  play  his  part  naturally  and 
easily  in  association  with  his  fellow-men,  are,  then,  the 
gravest  objections  which  have  been  urged  against  institu- 
tions for  children. 

There  are  in  several  different  institutions  men  and 
women  seriously  engaged  in  the  attempt  to  demonstrate 
that  these  evils  are  not  inherent,  and  that  they  may  be 
conquered  by  the  breaking  up  of  large  aggregates  into 
small  groups,  formed  as  nearly  as  possible  on  a  family 
basis  ;  by  the  employment  of  skilled  teachers  and  matrons, 
and  a  reduction  of  the  number  of  children  assigned  to 
each  ;  by  removal  from  the  city,  where  land  is  too  valu- 
able to  permit  room  for  out-of-door  recreation,  to  country 
sites,  where  children  may  be  brought  into  contact  with 
woods  and  fields  and  rivers  ;  and  by  the  introduction  of 
features  directly  calculated  to  supply  those  experiences 
and  opportunities  which  fall  as  a  matter  of  course  to  the 
lot  of  the  ordinary  child.  Such  institutions  are  ridding 
themselves  of  institutionalism,  of  that  mechanicalization 
which  is  an  ever  present  danger.  In  one  or  two  notable 
instances  the  revolt  against  institutionalism  has  gone  so 
far  as  to  lead  to  the  introduction  of  a  plan  of  more  or  less 
complete  self-government,  and  all  who  are  interested  in 
the  development  of  a  rational  system  of  care  for  children 
are  watching  with  interest  the  results  of  this  extreme 
policy.  In  other  instances  a  degree  of  freedom  has  been 
introduced  which  approaches  or  fully  equals  that  of  the 
average  family,  although  government  remains  entirely  in 
the  hands  of  the  superintendent  and  officers.  By  avoid- 
ing uniformity  of  dress,  by  throwing  together  children 
of  different  ages,  and  above  all  by  a  flexible  curriculum 
administered  by  instructors  who  are  seeking  constantly 


CHAP,  ix          HIGH   STANDARDS  IN  PLACING-OUT  119 

to  adapt  their  teaching  to  the  needs  and  capacities  of 
individual  children,  progress  is  being  made  toward  the 
development  of  institutions  which  will  be  free  from 
criticism. 

Contemporaneously  with  this  improvement,  however, 
there  has  been  developed  in  a  few  places  a  high  standard 
of  placing-out  work  to  which  it  is  appropriate  to  recur 
after  what  has  been  said  about  institutions,  since  a  large 
proportion  of  the  children  who  are  temporarily  cared  for 
in  institutions  are  eventually  placed  in  foster-homes.  The 
principles  upon  which  homes  should  be  selected  have  now 
been  carefully  worked  out  and  formulated.  One  of  the 
best  statements  of  these  principles  is  contained  in  a  paper 
presented  by  Homer  Folks  to  the  International  Confer- 
ence of  Charities  at  Chicago  in  1893,  entitled  "Family 
Life  for  Dependent  and  Wayward  Children."  It  is  first 
of  all  necessary  that  there  shall  be  obtained  from  the 
applicant  for  the  child  a  full  statement  concerning  the 
constitution  of  his  own  family,  and  of  employees  or  other 
persons  residing  in  the  family  ;  concerning  the  occupation 
of  the  head  of  the  family  and  his  circumstances  of  life,  — 
if  a  farmer,  for  example,  whether  he  is  owner  or  tenant, 
size  of  his  farm,  kind  and  amount  of  live  stock,  —  if  in 
clerical  or  professional  life,  particulars  concerning  sum- 
mer and  winter  residence ;  number  of  rooms  occupied  by 
family,  and  intention  of  applicant  concerning  future  career 
of  the  adopted  child ;  religious  affiliations  ;  distance  from 
nearest  church ;  distance  from  school,  whether  public,  pa- 
rochial, or  private ;  length  of  school  year ;  agreement  as 
to  period  during  which  child  should  be  sent ;  whether  the 
family  has  ever  received  children  from  other  charitable  or- 
ganizations ;  and  description  of  child  desired.  Mr.  Folks 
adds  the  following  searching  questions :  Would  the  child 
eat  with  the  family  ;  with  whom  would  it  sleep  ;  would  it 
attend  social  gatherings  with  the  family,  and  be  treated  in 
all  respects  as  one  of  their  number?  What  is  the  princi- 
pal motive  in  desiring  to  receive  the  child  in  the  home? 
This  statement  is  but  the  beginning  of  the  essential  inquiry 
concerning  the  applicant,  although  the  answers  to  these 
questions,  rightly  interpreted,  will  often  be  sufficient  to 
lead  to  the  immediate  rejection  of  the  application.  Refer- 


120  PRINCIPLES   OF   BELIEF  PART  i 

ences  will  naturally  be  given  by  those  who  desire  to  adopt 
children,  and  it  will  do  no  harm  to  address  inquiries  to 
those  who  are  mentioned  by  the  applicants  as  in  a  position 
to  give  information.  Independent  inquiries,  however,  ad- 
dressed to  clergymen,  teachers,  and  to  neighbors  who  are 
found  to  be  in  a  position  to  express  an  independent  judg- 
ment, are  far  more  valuable,  and  there  will  be  no  diffi- 
culty, if  a  little  trouble  is  taken,  to  secure  the  names  of 
such  persons.  Besides  the  statement  from  the  applicant, 
however,  and  letters  from  those  suggested  by  himself  and 
from  others  whose  names  are  secured  independently,  a  per- 
sonal visit  to  the  home  in  which  it  is  proposed  to  place  the 
child  is  found  in  experience  to  be  absolutely  essential. 

The  sad  tragedies  resulting  from  the  omission  of  these 
safeguards  are  a  warning  that,  however  troublesome  and 
expensive  such  inquiries  prove  to  be,  they  cannot  wisely  be 
omitted.  The  practice  of  taking  a  group  of  children  into 
a  new  community,  and  giving  them  out  to  persons  who 
have  assembled  in  response  to  a  glowing  appeal,  with  no 
assurance  except  a  perfunctory  public  indorsement  from 
a  local  committee,  is  scarcely  less  reprehensible  than  the 
habitual  daily  exercise  of  personal  discretion  on  the  part 
of  the  superintendent  or  public  official  based  solely  on  the 
appearance  of  the  applicant,  and  the  assumed  capacity  of 
the  interviewer  to  judge  human  nature  sufficiently  to  make 
an  offhand  decision  on  such  meagre  data.  Rigid  investi- 
gation of  those  who  desire  to  adopt  children  is  again, 
however,  only  the  initial  step  in  a  judicious  system  of 
placing  out  children.  Subsequent  supervision  based  upon 
correspondence  and  frequent  visits,  and  the  exercise  of 
trained  intelligence  in  detecting  evidences  of  ill  treat- 
ment or  maladjustment  between  child  and  home,  are 
equally  indispensable.1  Occasionally  a  second  or  third 
home  must  be  tried  before  a  satisfactory  permanent  ad- 
justment is  made.  Responsibility  for  health,  education, 
and  moral  development  are  assumed  by  the  individual  or 
society  that  places  the  child  in  a  foster-home  and  thus 
determine  the  environment  in  which  he  shall  live.  This 

1  Mr.  Folks,  from  whom  I  have  already  quoted  in  regard  to  the  selection 
of  homes,  says  that  the  principal  feature  of  subsequent  supervision  should 
be  unannounced  personal  visits  by  an  expert  agent. 


CHAP,  ix  AN   INSTRUCTIVE   CALCULATION  121 

responsibility  is  a  continuing  one,  and  to  be  discharged 
properly  it  is  as  necessary  to  know  the  conditions  after  six 
months,  a  year,  or  five  years,  as  at  the  time  of  placing. 
Until  the  child  has  grown  to  maturity  constant  super- 
vision is  required.  Visits  may  be  more  or  less  frequent, 
according  to  circumstances,  but  must  be  of  sufficient  fre- 
quency to  keep  those  who  are  responsible  in  the  first 
instance  reliably  informed  concerning  the  conditions. 
Even  legal  adoption,  although  it  shifts  responsibility  to  a 
great  extent,  does  not  completely  absolve  those  who  have 
originally  assumed  it,  since  in  some  communities  the  for- 
mality of  adoption  may  not  be  adequately  safeguarded. 

The  writer  was  once  asked  what  it  would  cost  to  send 
a  thousand  children  from  the  streets  of  New  York  City  to 
free  homes  in  the  West.  The  inquiry  was  not  an  un- 
natural one,  coming  from  a  man  who  had  amassed  a  great 
fortune,  and  whose  own  boyhood  had  been  passed  in  a 
New  England  village.  Having  no  personal  knowledge 
either  of  city  waifs  or  of  organized  methods  of  placing 
children,  he  assumed,  or,  perhaps  it  would  be  more  accu- 
rate to  say,  had  been  informed  from  a  certain  class  of 
books  and  newspaper  articles  which  deal  superficially  with 
social  problems,  that  there  are  at  large  an  indefinite  num- 
ber of  children  who  can  be  gathered  bodily  into  a  child- 
saving  net,  and  taken  hither  and  yon  as  the  catcher  may 
fancy,  and  that  the  only  expense  involved  is  the  railway 
fare.  If,  in  answer  to  the  inquiry,  it  had  been  said  that 
the  thousand  children  could  be  taken  West  and  placed 
out  at  a  per  capita  expense  of  $ 20  or  $25,  this  sum  might 
no  doubt  have  been  instantly  forthcoming ;  and  if  it  had 
been  attempted  to  carry  the  donor's  wishes  into  execution, 
sad  havoc  would  have  resulted.  A  few  happy  chances 
would  have  resulted  from  the  attempt,  but  many  children 
would  certainly  have  been  taken  who  are  better  off  at 
home,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  that  home  happens  to  be 
in  the  city ;  and  others,  who  would  appear  at  the  outset 
to  have  been  placed  pleasantly  enough,  would  in  a  very 
few  months  have  run  away  from  their  new  homes,  per- 
haps on  just  provocation ;  while  still  others,  in  the  course 
of  time,  would  have  found  themselves  sorely  in  need  of 
protection  or  guidance  or  help  which  no  one  would  stand 


122  PRINCIPLES  OF   RELIEF  PART  I 

ready  to  give,  since  the  philanthropy  of  the  original  donor 
would  have  been  exhausted  by  his  gift,  and  he  would  have 
provided  no  substitute  to  stand  in  his  place.  One  cannot 
remove  a  thousand  children  from  their  homes,  or  even 
from  their  temporary  lodging-places,  however  unsatisfac- 
tory they  may  appear  to  an  onlooker,  without  accepting 
the  responsibilities  implied  in  the  act.  In  answer  to  the 
inquiry  the  following  letter  was  sent :  — 

"DEAR  SIR:  — 

"  Pursuant  to  your  request  that  I  should  send  you 
information  as  to  the  cost  of  sending  1000  boys  to  the 
West  and  placing  them  in  homes,  I  beg  to  say  that  I  have 
had  made  three  estimates  representing  somewhat  different 
methods  of  placing  out  children,  and  also,  I  must  add, 
somewhat  different  degrees  of  efficiency  and  thoroughness. 
None  of  these  estimates,  however,  is  as  low  as  that  which 
I  gave  you  offhand  over  the  telephone  when  your  inquiry 
was  made,  as  I  did  not  make  sufficient  allowance  for  the 
expense  of  subsequent  supervision  and  for  various  inci- 
dental expenses,  most  of  which  are  itemized  in  the 
accompanying  estimates. 

"  Estimate  A  gives  a  total  of  1233,700,  or  approximately 
1235  per  capita  for  1000  children.  You  will  notice,  how- 
ever, that  this  provides  for  close  supervision  of  the  chil- 
dren until  death,  adoption,  or  coming  of  age ;  it  provides 
for  a  complete  outfit  of  clothing  for  each  child  placed  out, 
and  also  a  very  considerable  item  for  the  board  of  a  maxi- 
mum of  forty  children,  who,  although  placed  in  free  homes 
at  the  outset,  are  returned  for  one  reason  or  another,  and 
must  be  boarded  at  least  temporarily,  and  in  some  instances 
for  a  considerable  period.  Experience  shows  that  children 
who,  because  of  personal  unattractiveness,  physical  de- 
formity, or  some  other  reason,  cannot  be  placed  in  free 
homes,  may  usually  receive  all  the  advantages  of  a  good 
home  if  their  board  is  paid  for  at  some  such  rate  as  $2  per 
week.  This  estimate  includes  an  adequate  allowance  for 
the  travelling  expenses,  not  only  at  the  outset,  but  also 
for  the  occasional  transfers  from  one  home  to  another; 
for  medical  and  surgical  care  of  children  who  need  such 
treatment,  and  other  similar  items,  which  in  the  other 
estimates  are  not  allowed  for,  as  it  is  there  assumed  that 


CHAP,  ix  TO   SEND  A  THOUSAND    BOYS   WEST  123 

such  expenses  will  be  met  as  the  need  arises,  either  by 
existing  charitable  agencies  of  some  kind  or  by  the  foster- 
parents.  In  other  words,  the  estimate  of  $235  includes 
everything  which  is  necessary  to  find  a  suitable  home, 
prepare  the  child  for  it,  place  him  there,  and  insure  that 
he  shall  receive  during  his  minority  a  good  elementary 
education,  proper  attention  to  his  health,  and  the  con- 
tinued attention  of  a  responsible  agency  which  will  at 
once  remove  him  to  another  place  if  the  first  proves  in 
any  way  unsuitable. 

"  While  the  total  amount  seems  large,  it  is,  in  my  judg- 
ment, conservative  and  not  extravagant,  and  perhaps  it 
will  not  seem  to  you  that  $235  is  more  than  one  should 
expect  to  expend  in  providing  a  home,  an  education,  and 
living  expenses  for  a  boy  for  an  average  period  of  ten 
years,  or  a  maximum  period  of  sixteen  years. 

"  It  should  also  be  added  that  of  course  this  whole  sum 
would  not  need  to  be  made  available  at  the  outset,  as  this 
expenditure  would  extend  over  a  total  period  of  sixteen 
years.  If  the  entire  sum  were  provided  at  the  outset,  a 
corresponding  deduction  might  be  made  for  interest. 

"  Estimate  B  is  made  by  a  society  which  has  placed  out 
a  large  number  of  children.  I  am  of  the  opinion  that  the 
estimate  does  not  include  sufficient  provision  for  such 
previous  inspection  of  the  homes  as  will  insure  the  selection 
of  good  homes.  Such  as  it  is,  however,  the  estimate,  as 
you  will  see,  is  considerably  lower  than  estimate  A,  and 
amounts  to  $91.15  per  capita. 

"Estimate  C  is  supplied  by  two  gentlemen  who  have 
had  extensive  experience  in  the  state  of  Minnesota,  where 
the  placing  out  of  dependent  children  is  carried  on  directly 
by  the  state.  Their  estimate  is  itemized,  and  is  $166.40 
per  capita. 

"My  own  opinion  is  that  neither  estimate  B  nor  esti- 
mate C  should  be  accepted,  for  the  reason  that  they  do 
not  take  sufficient  account  of  the  expenses  of  care  for  the 
difficult  cases.  On  the  Minnesota  plan,  children  who  can- 
not be  placed  in  free  homes  are,  in  fact,  cared  for  in  a 
state  institution.  Of  course,  it  would  be  entirely  possible 
for  those  who  were  carrying  out  this  plan  to  turn  over  the 
difficult  cases  (such  as  are  boarded  under  estimate  A)  to  a 


124  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

charitable  institution.  This,  however,  is  only  to  shift  the 
burden  which  should  be  recognized  as  a  part  of  the  task 
of  placing  out  1000  children.  It  would  be  impossible 
that  one  should  anticipate  at  the  start  all  the  personal 
idiosyncrasies,  physical  weaknesses,  and  even  the  moral 
deficiencies  which  would  eventually  be  disclosed  by  1000 
boys. 

"Coming,  therefore,  to  a  direct  answer  to  your  ques- 
tion, my  estimate  would  be  that  to  place  1000  boys  in 
free  homes,  whether  in  New  York  State  or  in  the  West, 
would  cost  about  $ 75,000  initial  expense ;  and  to  give 
them  the  subsequent  supervision  which  should  be  supplied 
to  any  children  thus  placed  elsewhere  than  in  their  own 
homes,  would  bring  the  total  expense  to  about  1235,000. 

"  While  there  is  necessarily  some  guesswork  in  the 
above,  as,  for  example,  in  the  number  of  children  for 
which  it  would  be  necessary  to  provide  board,  I  think 
that  I  am  safe  in  saying  that  a  thoroughly  responsible 
society,  which  represents  the  very  best  methods  of  plac- 
ing-out  work,  would  assume  the  responsibility  of  carry- 
ing through  the  plan  if  the  amount  named  in  estimate  A 
were  placed  at  their  disposal ;  while  the  other  society 
mentioned  would  doubtless  undertake  the  work  on  the 
basis  of  their  estimate." 


ESTIMATE   A 

I.    AGENTS    FOR    PLACING-OUT     AND    SUPERVISION    (including 
travelling  expenses  of  agent  and  children)  :  — 

10  agents  for  first  three  years  at  $1750  $52,500 
6  agents  fop  second  three  years  at  $1750  31,500 
4  agents  for  third  three  years  at  $1750  21,000 
2  agents  for  final  seven  years  at  $1750  24,500  $139,500 

II.    CLOTHING  :  — 

1000  outfits  at  $  15 $15,000 

Outfits  for  children  who  are  boarded  out, 
and  for  those  who  must  be  placed 
more  than  once : 

First  5  years  at  $1000   ....         5,000 
Second  5  years  at  $500          .        .        .        2,500      $22,500 


CHAP.    IX 


COST  $235  PER   CAPITA 


126 


III.     ADMINISTRATIVE  EXPENSES:  — 

Rent  for  10  years  at  $600         .         .         .  $6,000 
Clerical  services : 

First  10  years  at  $1200  (2  clerks  at 

$600  each) 12,000 

Six  years  at  $600  (1  clerk)    .        .        .        3,600 
Office  supplies,  16  years    ....        1,600      $23,200 


IV.    PRINTING  :  — 

First  year 

8  years  at  $200  . 

7  years  at  $100 . 


$500 
1,600 
700        $2,800 


V.    POSTAGE  :  — 

3  years  at  $500 
7  years  at  $100 
6  years  at  $50  , 

VI.    BOARD  :  — 


40  children  for  5  years  at  $100 
20  children  for  5  years  at  $100 
10  children  for  6  years  at  $100 


$1,500 
700 
300  $2,500 


.    $20,000 
.      10,000 

6,000      $36,000 


VII.    MISCELLANEOUS  EXPENSES:  — 

Medical  and  surgical  treatment,  etc.,  es- 
pecially for  boarded  children    . 


$7,200        $7,200 
$233,700 


Annual  cost  of  placing  out  and  keeping  under  continued  super- 
vision an  average  number  of  1000  children :  — 

I.     10  agents  at  $1750 $17,500 

II.     Clothing  (first  year) 2,300 

III.  Administrative  expenses     ....  2,000 

IV.  Printing 200 

V.     Postage 400 

VI.     Board  of  children  not  in  free  homes    .         .  4,000 

VII.    Miscellaneous  expenses         ....  800 

Total  $27,200 


Assuming  that  the  children  are  kept  under  supervision  on  an 
average  eight  years,  the  average  cost  for  each  child  would  be  $217.60. 


126 


PRINCIPLES   OF  BELIEF 


PART  1 


ESTIMATE  B 

For  placing  out  each  child  (including  expenses  of  in- 
vestigation, travelling,  clothing,  etc.) 

Supervision,  at  $4.40  per  annum,  for  an  average  period 
of  five  years 

Preliminary  training  at  a  farm-school  (which  is  found 
useful  both  as  a  training  and  as  an  opportunity  for 
observing  the  peculiarities  of  the  child)  . 

Total  cost  for  1000  children  at  $91.15      . 


$51.40 
22.00 

17.75 

$91.15 
1,150.00 


ESTIMATE  C 

The  cost  of  supervising  in  free  homes  1000  dependent  children, 
received  at  the  average  ages  and  supervised  until  each  child  is 
18  years  of  age,  —  estimate  based  on  conditions  existing  in  Minne- 
sota, except  its  capacity  for  assimilating  this  number  in  satisfactory 
homes :  — 


1st  year 

2d  year 

17th  year 

Superintendent  

$1,800 

$1,800 

$1,800 

Superintendent's  travelling  expenses 

400 

400 

600 

Four  agents         

4,800 

4,800 

— 

Agents'  travelling  expenses 
Stenographer  and  clerk 

2,200 
500 

2,200 
500 

500 

Rent    

300 

300 

300 

Office  maintenance     .... 

50 

50 

50 

Office  furniture  ..... 

400 

10 



Postage,  printing,  and  stationery 
Telegraph  and  telephone  . 

400 
120 

400 
120 

200 
60 

Annual  report     

150 

150 

150 

Travelling  of  children  in  the  state     . 

2,000 

200 

— 

Clothing      

11,000 

300 

40 

Emergent  board          .... 

400 

700 

250 

Total         .... 

$24,520 

$11,930 

$3,950 

First  year 

Second  year   ..... 
Third,  fourth,  and  fifth  years 
Sixth  to  sixteenth  years,  inclusive 
Seventeenth  year  .... 
Grand  total 


(11  years) 


$24,520 

11,930 

36,000 

90,000 

3,950 

$166,400 


CHAPTER  X 

DEPENDENT   ADULTS 

As  there  are  children  who  from  orphanage  or  other 
cause  cannot  be  cared  for  in  their  own  homes,  so  there  are 
also  adults  who,  through  advanced  age  or  physical  in- 
capacity arising  from  some  other  cause,  cannot  support 
themselves,  and  for  whom  there  are  no  relatives  or  friends 
ready  to  offer  maintenance  and  shelter.  In  the  chapter 
on  the  social  consequences  implied  in  the  acceptance  of  a 
normal  standard  of  living,  it  was  pointed  out  that  hospitals 
for  the  sick  have  not  yet  reached  their  full  natural  de- 
velopment, and  that  we  may  expect  that  many  for  whom 
as  yet  no  provision  has  been  made,  will  be  received  as 
patients  at  the  expense  either  of  the  taxpayer  or  of  private 
philanthropy.  Whichever  bears  the  burden,  it  is  essential 
that  those  who  can  pay  for  treatment  and  maintenance 
shall  do  so,  either  on  the  present  ordinary  plan  of  fees  for 
care  actually  received,  or  by  an  insurance  system  of 
regular  payments  by  the  month  or  quarter,  in  return  for 
which  care  is  given  when  needed.  Many  of  those  who 
now  become  public  charges  could  readily  meet  the  actual 
expense  involved  if  it  could  thus  be  distributed,  and  there 
are  many  who  would  prefer  thus  to  keep  free  from 
obligations  to  others.  This  applies,  however,  to  out- 
patient dispensary  treatment,  to  secure  which  patients 
call  in  person  at  dispensaries,  and  to  treatment  given 
from  such  institutions  to  patients  who  are  cared  for  at 
home. 

Somewhat  more  completely  dependent  are  those  who 
become  patients  within  the  hospital,  because  they  have 
not  homes  in  which  they  can  be  properly  cared  for,  or 
because  from  the  nature  of  the  illness  hospital  care  is 
deemed  advisable.  For  the  majority  of  these,  also,  care 

127 


128  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PARTI 

in  the  hospital  is  only  a  form  of  relief,  for  the  family 
separation  is  but  temporary  and  the  purpose  is  the  easiest 
possible  restoration  to  ordinary  home  life.  The  incurable, 
or  those  suffering  from  chronic  disease  involving  a  long 
period  of  institutional  care;  isolated  individuals,  who 
although  not  seriously  ill  are,  on  account  of  physical  in- 
capacity, not  quite  able  to  earn  their  own  living ;  and  the 
less  efficient  members  of  classes  variously  afflicted,  such 
as  the  blind,  the  crippled,  and  the  epileptic,  form  a  series 
of  dependent  groups  for  whom  provision  must  be  made. 
To  some  extent  private  endowments  and  even  societies 
relying  upon  annual  contributions  have  supplied  institu- 
tions to  meet  these  needs.  There  is,  however,  plainly 
apparent  a  tendency  for  private  philanthropy  to  withdraw 
from  this  field,  and  to  occupy  itself  rather  with  those  who 
are  more  easily  reclaimable,  and  with  preventive  tasks  of 
which  the  aim  is  to  lessen  the  number  who  become  de- 
pendent upon  others.  This  tendency  is  one  which  may 
wisely  be  encouraged.  Institutional  care  for  those  who 
cannot  be  cured,  for  those  who  can  look  for  release  from 
their  infirmities  and  afflictions  only  in  death,  is  certainly 
a  most  appropriate  task  for  the  state.  It  is  true  that  if 
the  state  neglects  it,  it  will  be  performed  in  some  fashion 
by  private  charity,  but  it  is  admitted  that  the  amounts 
likely  to  be  invested  by  private  philanthropy  in  con- 
structive social  work  and  also  in  relief  will  not  be  suffi- 
cient to  support  all  of  those  who,  whether  by  their  own 
fault  or  that  of  others  —  or  without  fault  on  the  part  of 
any  —  are  dependent,  and  at  the  same  time  provide  genu- 
ine relief  in  its  more  accurate  sense  for  those  who,  through 
effective  relief,  may  be  removed  from  the  ranks  of  the 
social  debtors.  A  division  of  work  is  therefore  essential, 
and  if  the  arguments  presented  against  public  out-door 
relief  are  valid,  the  division  lies  along  the  line  of  institu- 
tional care  from  the  public  treasury,  and  relief  at  home 
from  private  sources.  This  does  not  mean  that  private 
philanthropy  should  be  debarred  from  creating  institu- 
tions, especially  since  the  donor  may  not  be  disposed  to 
expend  in  more  fruitful  tasks  amounts  which  he  is  ready 
to  give  for  the  relief  of  the  aged,  or  those  who  are  suffer- 
ing from  special  types  of  infirmity.  In  the  field  of  ex- 


CHAP,  x     DIFFERENTIATION   OF   ALMSHOUSE   INMATES        129 

perimental  relief  for  those  who  have  been  thought  to  be 
incurable,  private  philanthropy  is  amply  justified.  The 
voluntary  transfer,  however,  of  expenditure  from  relief  of 
those  for  whom  there  is  no  outlook  except  the  possibility 
of  greater  comfort,  to  the  relief  of  those  who  can  be 
helped  effectively,  is  in  the  direction  of  progress,  and 
there  should  be  no  hesitation  to  fill  this  gap  by  more 
liberal  appropriations  from  the  public  treasury. 

In  the  almshouse  at  the  middle  of  the  nineteenth 
century  were  gathered  children,  insane,  feeble-minded,  the 
sick,  the  aged,  and  vagrants,  with  little  attempt  at 
classification,  and  with  no  facilities  for  providing  special- 
ized care  for  different  classes  of  inmates.  There  are  some 
states  in  which  primitive  conditions  of  this  kind  are  still 
to  be  found.  The  devolution  of  the  almshouse  proceeds 
by  such  regular  stages  that  the  character  of  its  population 
and  of  its  administration  are  a  fair  index  of  the  state  of 
public  sentiment,  and  of  the  degree  of  enlightenment 
which  the  community  has  attained.  The  removal  of  the 
insane  to  special  hospitals,  in  which  they  are  looked  upon 
as  sick  persons,  rather  than  as  paupers,  and  in  which  there 
is  a  large  expenditure  for  the  treatment  of  those  whose 
condition  is  acute  and  curable,  is  one  of  the  early  stages  in 
the  differentiation  of  the  almshouse  population.  The  cost 
of  the  care  of  the  insane  is,  of  course,  likely  to  be  greater 
after  this  separation  has  been  made  because  higher  pro- 
fessional skill  is  brought  to  bear  upon  their  treatment, 
a  more  appropriate  dietary  introduced,  a  higher  degree  of 
comfort  maintained,  and  an  environment  created  favorable 
for  recovery.  The  knowledge  of  these  improvements  will 
inevitably  attract,  as  it  is  desirable  that  it  should,  persons 
whose  affliction  might  otherwise  be  concealed,  or  for 
whom  at  least  no  suitable  treatment  would  have  been 
provided.  Strict  investigation  of  admissions,  reinvesti- 
gation  from  time  to  time,  and  the  prompt  discharge  of 
patients  who  have  recovered,  or  are  so  far  improved  as  to 
make  further  hospital  care  unnecessary,  and  the  enforce- 
ment of  payment —  in  whole  or  in  part  —  by  those  who  are 
found  to  be  in  position  to  make  such  payment,  are  the 
means  by  which  the  abuse  of  public  hospital  relief  can 
be  prevented.  It  is  not  necessary  that  any  conditions 


130  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  i 

favorable  to  recovery  shall  be  lacking  to  keep  the  growth 
of  the  population  of  the  institution  in  check.  Lavish 
expenditure  for  unessentials  is,  of  course,  to  be  con- 
demned, but  expenditures  for  the  curably  insane  have 
been  niggardly  and  inadequate  far  more  frequently  than 
they  have  been  excessive. 

The  removal  of  children  from  the  almshouse  to  separate 
institutions,  or  to  the  care  of  placing-out  agencies,  is 
another  step  so  obvious  and  so  imperative  that  it  is 
strange  to  find  communities  in  which  it  has  not  yet  been 
taken.  The  association  of  dependent  children  with  adult 
paupers  is  directly  demoralizing,  but  even  if  they  were 
kept  physically  apart,  the  complete  absence  in  the  alms- 
house  of  any  suitable  educational  facilities,  and  the  im- 
possibility of  providing  any  of  the  features  of  a  natural 
environment  for  growing  children,  would  of  themselves 
condemn  the  practice  of  receiving  children  into  any  such 
institution.  So  great  is  the  temptation  to  effect  a  petty 
economy,  and  so  ignorant  are  many  local  officials  charged 
with  the  support  of  the  poor,  that  statutory  prohibition 
of  the  reception  of  children  into  almshouses  is  justified, 
and  even  the  enactment  of  such  statutes  has  accomplished 
the  removal  only  with  difficulty. 

The  epileptic  have  also,  in  several  states,  ceased  to  be 
inmates  of  the  almshouse,  and  have  been  removed  to 
special  institutions,  some  of  which  are  conducted  on  the 
farm  colony  plan.  The  uniform  effect  of  this  change, 
accompanied  by  a  study  of  the  disease  and  of  the  more 
efficient  application  of  approved  methods,  has  been  a 
lessening  in  the  frequency  and  severity  of  attacks.  For 
a  fair  proportion  of  epileptics  the  colony  becomes  a  means 
of  self-support.  With  the  sympathy  and  special  attention 
given  within  the  colony,  patients  are  able  to  do  an  amount 
and  kind  of  work  that  fully  recompenses  the  state  for 
its  outlay  on  their  behalf,  although  such  patients  might 
not  be  able  to  care  for  themselves  under  the  conditions 
prevailing  outside  the  institution.  Feeble-minded  and 
idiotic  persons,  whether  children  or  adults,  are  also  more 
humanely  cared  for  in  special  institutions  created  for 
them,  and  in  many  institutions  improvement  in  their 
physical  and  mental  condition  can  be  brought  about. 


CHAP,  x       THR  RESIDUUM  ALSO  A  SPECIAL  CLASS  131 

Hope  of  greatly  increasing  the  number  of  recoveries  has 
not  been  to  any  great  extent  realized.  In  New  York 
State  a  threefold  classification  has  been  made  :  teachable, 
feeble-minded  children  being  cared  for  in  one  institution, 
feeble-minded  women  of  child-bearing  age  in  another,  and 
unteachable  idiots  in  a  third.  In  the  first  of  these  stress 
is  laid  upon  education,  in  the  others  upon  custodial 
care,  with,  however,  the  introduction  of  whatever  will 
make  life  more  endurable,  or  will  lead  to  the  improve- 
ment of  individuals  who  may  be  found  to  be  teachable. 
The  custodial  asylum  for  women  has  had  an  appreciable 
effect  in  lessening  illegitimacy,  and  especially  in  pre- 
venting the  propagation  of  various  forms  of  degeneracy 
in  which  feeble-mindedness  is  a  connecting  link  from 
generation  to  generation. 

Connected  with  the  almshouse  there  is  usually  a 
hospital,  and  in  those  of  larger  size  a  series  of  hospitals, 
enabling  more  acute  cases  to  be  separated  from  those 
of  a  chronic  kind.  Consumptives,  mentally  disturbed  pa- 
tients who  cannot  be  considered  insane,  and  other  special 
classes  may  also  be  treated  in  special  wards  or  hospitals 
if  their  numbers  are  sufficient  to  warrant  it.  There  is 
a  disposition  to  make  a  more  complete  separation  of  hospi- 
tals, however,  from  the  almshouse  proper,  even  if  they  are 
under  the  same  administration.  Those  who  are  patients  in 
the  hospital  are  treated  rather  with  reference  to  their  diseases 
than  as  paupers,  as  the  insane,  children,  and  the  physically 
afflicted  have  already  come  to  be  treated  according  to  their 
respective  needs,  rather  than  merely  as  public  charges  to 
be  fed  and  housed  at  the  least  possible  expense.  In  a 
striking  paper  published  in  Charities,1  Homer  Folks,  Com- 
missioner of  Public  Charities  in  New  York  City,  raised 
the  question  as  to  whether,  after  the  elimination  of  various 
classes  from  the  almshouse,  we  have  not  left,  instead  of 
an  undistributed  residuum,  merely  a  final  special  class, 
viz.,  aged  or  infirm  persons  who  are,  after  all,  quite  as 
much  entitled  to  be  treated  with  reference  to  their  special 
needs  as  any  of  the  various  classes  that  have  previously 
been  removed.  Mr.  Folks  shows  that  the  almshouse  has 

1  Monthly  magazine  number,  October  3,  1903. 


132  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PARTI 

tended  to  become  a  strictly  voluntary  institution  ;  that 
vagrants  and  other  able-bodied  persons  are  no  longer 
nominally  received  in  it,  but  are  rather  subjects  for  the 
discipline  of  a  correctional  institution.  Municipal  lodg- 
ing-houses and  work  tests  of  wood  yards,  and  other  means 
of  providing  temporary  employment  for  able-bodied,  des- 
titute persons,  have  eliminated  still  others  from  the 
almshouse  population.  Nearly  all  those  that  remain  are 
definitely  removed  by  physical  disability  from  the  possi- 
bility of  self-support ;  moreover,  we  have  an  instinctive 
feeling  that  aged  persons,  if  by  reason  of  destitution  they 
become  a  public  charge,  may  be  treated  with  a  degree  of 
consideration  quite  different  from  that  properly  accorded 
to  the  middle-aged,  able-bodied,  voluntary  pauper.  The 
inference  to  be  drawn  from  these  considerations  is  that  the 
bulk  of  our  almshouse  inmates  are  dependents  rather  than 
paupers,  using  the  latter  word  not  in  its  legal,  but  in 
its  ordinary,  significance.  The  distinction  between  de- 
pendence and  pauperism,  as  drawn  by  Mr.  Folks,  is  that 
dependency  carries  with  it  no  suggestion  of  reproach, 
while  pauperism  implies  a  willingness  and  a  desire  to  re- 
ceive charitable  aid  when  such  aid  is  not  a  necessity  —  a 
preference  for  accepting  the  public  bounty  rather  than  for 
making  all  reasonable  effort  for  self-support. 

In  accordance  with  this  idea,  Mr.  Folks,  as  Commissioner 
of  Public  Charities,  changed  the  name  of  the  almshouse  of 
New  York  City  to  The  Home  for  Aged  and  Infirm,  and 
made  a  number  of  changes  in  the  construction  of  build- 
ings, in  the  amount  and  variety  of  diet,  in  the  character  of 
clothing,  and  in  the  introduction  of  healthful  and  bene- 
ficial employment  of  inmates,  and  in  the  discipline  of  the 
institutions  under  his  charge,  which  were  in  accordance 
with  the  theory  above  set  forth.  The  only  argument 
which  can  be  advanced  against  this  position,  in  view  of 
the  historical  development  of  the  almshouse  and  other 
institutions  for  the  care  of  dependent  adults,  is  that  a 
community,  by  providing  thus  liberally  and  equally  for 
those  whose  past  lives  have  been  creditable,  and  for  those 
who  have  a  less  favorable  history,  removes  a  deterrent 
force  from  the  feet  of  younger  persons  who  are  now 
choosing  their  path.  This  objection  has,  however,  little 


CHAP,  x        BETTER   CARE   FOR   AGED   AND    INFIRM  133 

real  weight.  Life  in  the  almshouse  will  hardly  become 
so  attractive  that  a  course  which  leads  toward  it  will 
deliberately  be  chosen  for  that  reason.  Against  any 
slight  effect  which  a  higher  standard  of  physical  comfort 
in  the  almshouse  may  exercise  may  be  brought  considera- 
tions a  thousandfold  more  weighty  and  less  fanciful.  To 
quote  again  from  the  paper  by  Mr.  Folks,  to  which  refer- 
ence has  been  made,  there  are  "  probably  in  the  lives  of  a 
very  large  proportion  of  almshouse  inmates  some  chapters 
that  had  better  be  left  unread.  But  to  what  extent,  after 
all,  should  this  affect  our  care  of  them  in  the  few  remain- 
ing years  of  their  lives  ?  Now  that  the  years  of  activity, 
with  their  opportunities  and  temptations,  their  struggles 
for  existence  are  over,  now  that  the  ability  for  self- 
support  is  undeniably  gone,  no  matter  how,  shall  we  not 
recognize  them  all,  if  without  means  and  with  no  rela- 
tives able  to  support,  as  entitled  to  a  treatment  at  the 
hands  of  the  public  which  shall  be  quite  different  from 
that  accorded  in  correctional  institutions  for  able-bodied 
vagrants?  Death  is  the  great  leveller,  and,  as  it  casts  its 
shadow  before,  those  who  enter  it  tend  to  lose  the  charac- 
teristics that  have  marked  certain  individuals  as  different 
from  others  in  their  social .  relations.  As,  in  caring  for 
children,  we  take  little  account  of  their  good  or  ill 
deserts,  but  only  of  their  needs,  may  we  not  follow  a 
similar  course  in  caring  for  those  in  their  second  child- 
hood? Not  by  any  means  that  the  same  treatment  shall 
be  measured  out  for  all,  but  that  differences  of  care  shall 
be  based  on  present  tasks,  habits,  and  capacities,  and  not 
past  deserts." 

Along,  however,  with  this  recognition  of  the  legitimacy 
of  considerate  treatment  for  the  aged  and  infirm  who  are 
public  charges,  there  must  go  an  equally  clear  recognition 
of  the  fact  that  such  care  is  necessarily  expensive,  judged 
by  the  standard  of  expenditures  for  almshouse  inmates 
which  has  prevailed.  Not  only  do  the  various  items  of 
maintenance  become  greater,  but  the  cost  of  service  is  in- 
creased. Superintendents  and  subordinates  of  indifferent 
caliber  may  carry  out  a  routine  system  of  administration, 
but  to  create  a  pleasant  environment  and  to  meet  the  vari- 
ous needs  of  individual  dependents  calls  for  a  high  order 


134  PRINCIPLES  OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

of  ingenuity,  sympathy,  and  wisdom.  The  character  of  the 
service,  the  architecture  of  the  buildings,  the  grouping  of 
patients,  and  the  very  language  used  in  conversation  be- 
tween officers  and  patients,  must  all  bear  evidence  of  the 
new  spirit.  It  must  be  understood  that  those  who  are  in 
charge  of  the  home  for  the  aged  and  infirm  are  no  longer 
dealing  primarily  with  pauperism,  but,  like  the  officers  of 
institutions  for  the  care  of  children,  the  insane,  and  the 
defective,  are  dealing  with  dependents.  The  causes  which 
make  for  the  decrease  or  increase  of  pauperism  are  not  un- 
der the  control  of  those  who  are  caring  for  a  particular 
class  of  dependents,  but  are  much  more  likely  determined 
by  the  acts  of  ordinary  citizens  who  may  scarcely  be  con- 
scious of  the  existence  of  such  institutions.  The  attack 
upon  pauperism  must  be  made  in  the  schools,  in  the 
churches,  in  the  public  press,  and  at  the  ballot-box.  Those 
who  control  admission  and  discharge  from  the  home  for 
the  aged  are,  it  is  true,  responsible  for  one  among  many 
influences  for  good  and  evil.  The  transfer  of  the  alms- 
house,  by  the  successive  removal  of  many  classes  to  whom 
it  once  gave  shelter,  and  the  creation  of  a  well-managed 
home  for  the  aged  and  infirm  from  the  remnant,  may  well 
be  regarded  with  equanimity  by  those  to  whom  pauperism 
appears  to  be  an  unmitigated  curse. 

It  is  not  impossible  that  we  may  see  arise  as  a  supple- 
ment, or  as  an  alternative  to  the  almshouse  and  the  private 
homes  for  the  aged,  a  systematic  plan  for  boarding  out 
aged  infirm  persons,  on  the  plan  already  in  successful 
operation  for  boarding  dependent  children.  With  care- 
ful selection  of  homes,  and  competent  subsequent  super- 
vision, such  a  plan  might  succeed  admirably.  These 
features  would  prevent  the  abuses  which  led  to  the  abo- 
lition of  the  earlier  system  of  boarding  paupers  by  con- 
tract in  the  earlier  half  of  the  nineteenth  century.1 

1  See  p.  284. 


CHAPTER  XI 

FAMILY  DESERTION 

ONE  cause  of  distress  of  which  we.are  becoming  increas- 
ingly aware  in  recent  years,  probably  because  it  is  in- 
creasingly frequent,  is  the  desertion  of  wife  and  children 
by  their  natural  and  legally  responsible  breadwinner.  In 
the  first  flurry  of  astonishment  at  such  an  extraordinary 
phenomenon  as  desertion  by  heads  of  families  of  their  vol- 
untarily assumed  responsibilities,  there  was  much  specula- 
tion as  to  the  motives  which  could  have  led  to  it.  All  the 
influences  which  affect  human  conduct  would  appear  to  be 
arrayed  against  it.  Conjugal  and  parental  love,  the  sanc- 
tions of  religion,  the  good  opinion  of  friends  and  neigh- 
bors, the  most  elementary  sense  of  responsibility  for  one's 
own  express  and  implied  enjoyments,  the  expectation  of 
aid  and  support  from  offspring  in  later  life,  the  present 
assistance  of  the  wife  under  ordinary  circumstances  and 
her  care  and  comfort  in  illness  or  adversity,  form  a  most 
formidable  array  of  positive  motives  against  vagabondage 
on  the  part  of  a  man  with  wife  and  children.  The  eco- 
nomic advantages  lie  mainly  on  the  same  side.  The  fugitive 
from  justice  —  in  every  state  the  law  provides  some  method, 
however  defective,  either  criminal  or  civil,  for  reaching  the 
deserter  —  is  at  a  disadvantage  in  securing  and  retaining 
employment,  and  a  knowledge  of  his  failure  to  care  for  his 
own  will  everywhere  outweigh  any  number  of  other  virtues. 

Why  then  do  men  abandon  their  families,  and  is  there  a 
remedy  for  the  evil?  Let  us  consider  first  a  few  excep- 
tional cases  in  order  that  we  place  due  emphasis  upon  the 
fact  that  they  are  exceptional,  although  actual,  illustrations 
of  that  desertion  which  leads  directly  to  destitution  and  to 
applications  for  charitable  assistance  on  the  part  of  the 
deserted  family.  , 

135 


136  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

An  intemperate  man  whose  wife  was  also  intemperate, 
and  whose  home  was  therefore  neglected  and  unattractive, 
came  under  the  influence  of  a  temperance  reformer  and 
was  induced  to  take  the  pledge.  In  order  that  he  might 
the  more  easily  keep  it,  employment  was  found  for  him  in 
the  country  at  a  distance  from  his  family  and  his  former 
companions.  He  became  a  sober  and  industrious  laborer, 
but  in  the  process  he  gradually  formed  new  associations 
and  tastes,  and  in  the  end  completely  ignored  and  aban- 
doned both  wife  and  children.  Those  who  are  tabulating 
the  causes  of  distress  often  glibly  put  down  "intemper- 
ance," because  it  is  easier  than  to  analyze  the  rather  com- 
plicated conditions  of  which  intemperance  is  but  one.  It 
would  be  equally  faulty,  but  not  more  so,  to  describe  the 
desertion  in  this  instance  as  due  to  sobriety.  It  was,  of 
course,  due  to  other  moral  defects  which  were  unfortu- 
nately not  corrected  along  with  the  cure  of  the  drink  habit.  \ 

Another  family  came  under  the  notice  of  a  charitable 
society  on  the  desertion  of  its  nominal  head.  Investigation 
eventually  established  the  fact  that  this  desertion  was  a 
return  to  his  legitimate  wife  and  children  of  whom  the 
woman  that  made  the  application  for  aid  knew  nothing. 
To  leave  the  second  family  and  return  to  the  first  was  a 
legal  and  moral  duty;  and  on  the  superficial  method  of  tab- 
ulating causes,  this  case  of  desertion  might  be  described  as 
due  to  sudden  fidelity  to  the  marital  relation,  although  the 
earlier  infidelity  of  course  lies  behind  it. 

The  desertion  of  a  Russian  Jewess  by  her  Chinese  husband 
is  perhaps  not  so  surprising  as  the  fact  of  their  marriage. 
The  desertion  of  Protestant  wives  by  Catholic  husbands, 
and  of  Catholic  wives  by  Protestant  husbands  is  a  little 
more  common,  as  might  be  expected,  than  desertion  by 
those  who  are  of  the  same  household  of  faith  as  their  wives. 
Desertions  occur  in  marriages  of  mixed  nationalities  and 
races,  according  to  some  statistics  which  cover,  however, 
only  a  few  and  possibly  not  representative  desertions, 
somewhat  more  frequently  than  in  others,  although  the 
difference  is  not  sufficient  to  justify  particular  emphasis 
upon  such  marriages  as  an  explanation. 

Lasciviousness  accounts  for  fewer  desertions  than  might 
be  supposed.  A  close  study  of  over  two  hundred  deser- 


CHAP,  xi  EXCEPTIONAL  CASES  137 

tions  reveals  scarcely  a  dozen  in  which  the  attraction  of 
another  woman  can  positively  be  said  to  have  led  to  the 
desertion.  There  is  a  much  larger  proportion  in  which  the 
deserter  eventually  takes  up  with  another  woman,  who  is 
often  ignorant  of  the  previous  marriage  and  supposes  her- 
self to  be  a  lawful  wife,  but  in  these  cases  the  acquaintance 
is  made  subsequent  to  the  desertion,  and  where  this  is  not 
so,  there  is  often  no  reason  to  suspect  a  design  to  form  the 
new  alliance  as  the  prevailing  motive  for  desertion.  \ 

One  deserting  husband  died  of  consumption  within  a 
few  weeks  of  his  departure  ;  another  was  mentally  unbal- 
anced and  finally  died  as  a  patient  in  a  hospital  for  the 
insane  ;  another  was  driven  away  from  home  by  his  wife's 
rasping  tongue  and  shrewish  temper ;  another,  by  his  wife's 
bkd  cooking  and  general  inefficiency  in  household  affairs.  | 

Despondency  resulting  from  physical  ailment  or  from 
unstable  mental  equilibrium,  incompatibility  of  temper 
and  lack  of  judgment  in  the  direction  of  family  and  house- 
hold affairs,  may  indeed  account  for  many  separations  and 
for  the  otherwise  unaccountable  failure  in  some  cases  to 
provide  for  the  needs  of  wife  and  children.  \ 

Since  there  are  bona  fide  cases  of  these  kinds,  and  since 
it  is  natural  to  generalize  from  the  particular  instances 
encountered  in  one's  personal  experience,  even  if  they  are 
few  in  number,  it  is  not  surprising  that  sermons  have  been 
preached  and  articles  written  in  denunciation  of  the  wives 
whose  frivolity,  ignorance,  and  irritability  makes  the  home 
repellent  to  husband  and  children.  It  cannot  well  be  denied 
that  there  is  need  for  better  training  both  for  young  men 
and  for  young  women  in  the  qualities  needed  for  success- 
ful and  happy  domestic  life.  Candor,  however,  compels  - 
the  social  student  to  point  out  that  the  typical  family 
deserter  is  not  the  discouraged  sick  man,  or  the  meek  "  hen- 
pecked "  unfortunate,  or  the  dyspeptic  driven  to  despera- 
tion by  indigestible  food,  or  the  reformed  drinker  seeking 
relief  from  the  associations  of  his  earlier  unregenerate 
days,  or  the  remorseful  deserter  from  an  earlier  marriage 
bond  seeking  to  make  amends  for  his  misconduct,  i 

Nor  does  it  appear  that  the  deserters  who  leave  their 
family  dependent  upon  others  for  support  are  driven  to 
this  step  as  a  rule  by  dire  necessity.  They  are  for  the 


138  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  i 

most  part  young  men1  and  they  leave  young  wives  with 
but  two  or  three  children2 — more  than  the  mother  alone 
can  well  care  for  and  support,  but  not  enough  to  discourage 
any  man  with  self-respect  and  average  working  capacity. 
Moreover,  many  of  them  are  skilled  workingmen.  Their 
average  earnings  when  at  work  are  $12  or  $15  a  week,3  and 
a  large  proportion  are  actually  employed  at  the  time  of 
their  desertion,  or  just  previous  to  it. 

The  only  possible  conclusion  to  which  one  can  come 
from  a  study  of  these  cases  is  that  the  deserters  are  with- 
out that  normal  standard  of  conduct  which  is  accepted  by 
human  society  at  large,  that  they  are  lacking  in  a  sense  of 
moral  responsibility,  and  that  their  failure  is  of  a  criminal 
character  which  must  be  dealt  with  as  theft,  or  the  obtain- 
ing of  money  under  false  pretences,  or  even,  in  an  extreme 
case,  as  assault  and  manslaughter  are  dealt  with  ;  for  the 
maintenance  of  helpless  women  in  the  throes  of  child- 
birth, the  lives  and  welfare  of  innocent  children,  are  at 
stake,  and  as  long  as  the  family  is  the  unit  of  human  so- 
ciety, the  obligation  to  provide  for  the  family  must  be 
recognized  voluntarily  or  compulsorily  enforced. 

Before  leaving  the  more  general  aspects  of  the  subject, 
it  may  not  be  amiss  to  point  out  that  there  is  a  reciprocal 
obligation  on  the  part  of  the  wife  and  mother  not  to 
abandon  the  home,  and  that  desertion  of  husband  and 
children  is  by  no  means  unknown.  Sons  and  daughters 
who  have  grown  to  maturity  are,  likewise,  under  obligation 
to  support  infirm  or  aged  parents,  and  at  least  a  similar 
moral  obligation  may  rest  upon  grandparents  and  grand- 
children.4 

The  words  "desertion"  and  "abandonment"  imply 
physical  absence  on  the  part  of  the  breadwinner.  The  es- 
sence of  the  evil,  however,  is  not,  of  course,  bodily  absence, 

1  Of  191  deserters,  48  per  cent  were  under  35,  and  68  per  cent  under  40, 
years  of  age. 

2  The  191  deserters  above  mentioned  left  in  all  514  children  under  14 
years  of  age,  an  average  of  2.69  in  each  family. 

8  Of  100  deserters  whose  wages  were  known,  75  were  earning  $9  or 
more,  15  of  them  $20  or  more.  Among  437  families  who  suffered  in 
the  General  Slocum  disaster,  June  15,  1904,  there  were  63  widows  and  10 
deserted  wives. 

4  The  Charter  of  New  York  City  recognizes  a  legal  obligation  to  sup- 
port indigent  grandparents  or  dependent  grandchildren. 


CHAP,  xi  MORE   STRINGENT  LEGISLATION  139 

but  rather  a  failure  to  provide  proper  support,  —  this  failure 
simply  being  more  complete  and  noticeable  in  the  case  of 
those  who  both  neglect  to  provide  and  who  are  away  from 
home,  especially  if  their  whereabouts  are  unknown. 

The  causes  of  desertion  or  non-support  are  thus  found 
to  be  as  numerous  and  as  complicated  as  are  any  causes 
of  destitution  and  of  crime.  The  unwillingness  of  most 
wives  to  appear  in  court  and  ask  for  suitable  action  is 
very  general  and  is  perfectly  intelligible.  Although  there 
is  no  complete  solution  for  the  problem  in  legislation, 
there  are  great  differences  in  the  effectiveness  of  existing 
laws  in  mitigating  the  evil.  An  investigation  made  by 
the  Philadelphia  Society  for  Organizing  Charity  in  1902 
indicates  that  in  two  states  there  was  no  special  law  on  the 
subject  of  desertion  and  non-support  of  wife  and  chil- 
dren ;  that  there  were  sixteen  states  in  which  the  only  rem- 
edy for  the  wife  is  an  application  for  divorce;  ten  in  which 
a  civil  remedy  was  provided  in  the  form  of  a  judicial 
order  against  the  husband  to  pay  a  certain  sum  for  the 
support  of  his  family  ;  eighteen  states  in  which  desertion 
was  a  criminal  offence,' classed  as  a  misdemeanor,  and  two 
in  which  it  was  classed  as  a  felony.  Charitable  societies 
have  recently  given  this  subject  increased  attention,  and 
as  a  rule  have  urged  the  enactment  of  more  severe  laws. 
It  has  been  argued  that  desertion  should  be  made  a  felony, 
partly  because  this  would,  by  increasing  the  gravity  of  the 
offence  and  its  penalty,  naturally  decrease  the  number  of 
offenders,  and  partly  because,  as  a  felon,  the  criminal 
would  be  more  readily  subject  to  extradition.  While 
misdemeanants  are  extraditable  as  well  as  felons,  the  gov- 
ernors of  states  are  usually  unwilling  to  act  except  in  case 
of  felony.  Something  could  doubtless  be  accomplished 
by  changes  in  the  laws  in  the  directions  that  have  been 
indicated,  and  by  the  use  of  probation  officers.  On  this 
subject  the  following  resolutions  were  adopted  by  the 
National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction  at  At- 
lanta in  1903 :  — 

"  Whereas,  The  desertion  of  wife  and  children  by  the 
legal  head  of  the  family,  with  a  deliberate  purpose  of 
evading  their  support,  has  become  a  serious  evil  in  the 
United  States,  entailing  not  only  a  great  burden  upon 


140  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

public  and  private  relief  funds,  but  causing  untold  suffer- 
ing to  sick  women  and  neglected  children,  and  seriously 
impairing  public  health  and  morals,  and 

"  Whereas,  Detailed  investigation  in  several  states  has 
shown  that  of  all  families  under  the  care  of  private  chari- 
table associations,  no  less  than  one  in  ten  owe  their  desti- 
tution to  this  cause,  and  that  the  laws  in  twenty  states 
for  the  punishment  for  desertion  of  a  family  in  destitute 
circumstances  are  without  effectual  sanction,  because  de- 
serters know  that  they  have  only  to  step  over  the  state 
line  for  immunity,  and 

"  Whereas,  The  National  Conference  of  Charities  and 
Correction  believes  that  the  application  of  extradition  to 
this  class  of  family  deserters  will  prove  the  most  effective 
remedy  and  deterrent ;  therefore,  be  it 

"Resolved,  that  the  National  Conference  of  Charities 
and  Correction  petition  the  governors  of  the  different 
states  of  the  United  States  to  cooperate  in  checking  this 
growing  evil  by  exercising  their  powers  of  extradition,  by 
issuing  requests  for  the  return  of  fugitive  deserters  whose 
families  are  dependent,  as  well  as  by  honoring  requisitions 
from  other  states." 

The  relief  problem  which  is  precipitated  by  desertion 
may  now  be  considered.  Legislation  and  education  will 
lessen  and  may  in  time  remove  it,  but  not  at  once.  It 
was  pointed  out1  at  a  recent  conference  on  the  subject  of 
family  desertions  that  the  first  essential  for  the  charitable 
visitor  is  to  recognize  a  case  of  desertion  when  he  encoun- 
ters it.  For  a  long  time  there  was  no  distinction  made 
between  the  deserted  family  and  that  of  the  widow,  or,  for 
that  matter,  between  the  family  of  the  real  deserter,  who 
has  left  for  good,  and  that  of  the  "  spurious  deserter,"  who 
has  not  gone  away  at  all,  or  who  has  gone  for  a  brief 
period  in  connivance  with  the  wife,  in  order  to  facilitate 
her  application  for  relief.  There  are  husbands,  so-called, 
who  desert  their  wives  on  the  occasion  of  each  childbirth, 
returning  after  some  weeks  to  find  that  medical  attend- 
ance, nursing,  medicines,  and  supplies  have  been  furnished 
without  expense  to  them,  and  even  a  stock  of  infants'  and 

1  Miss  Mary  E.  Richmond,  at  a  conference  in  New  York,  April  29, 
1903. 


CHAP,  xi  RELIEF   AND   DESERTION  141 

children's  clothing  which  will  probably  last  until  the  ad- 
vent of  the  next  infant.  There  are  men  —  perhaps  "  so- 
called  "  should  be  added  here  also  —  who  go  away  every 
winter,  or  at  every  approach  of  hard  times,  or  whenever 
any  money  comes  in  —  taking  the  money,  of  course,  with 
them.  The  calm  reliance  on  the  charity  of  neighbors  and 
of  churches,  and  of  charitable  societies,  displayed  by  such 
deserters,  is  a  tribute  to  be  accepted  with  a  certain  misgiv- 
ing and  reflection  as  to  the  wisdom  of  the  policy  upon 
which  it  rests.  The  spurious  deserter,  who  is  in  collusion 
with  the  begging  wife,  is  far  more  common  than  will  be 
thought  possible  by  the  inexperienced.  He  may  be  living 
at  home,  or  temporarily  lodging  elsewhere. 

The  twenty-fourth  annual  report  of  the  Philadelphia 
Society  for  Organizing  Charity  identifies  and  gives  illus- 
trations of  five  classes,  as  follows:  the  Chronic  Deserter, 
the  Reclaimable  Deserter,  the  Spurious  Deserter,  the 
Half-Excusable  Deserter,  and  the  Un- Get- At- Able  De- 
serter. The  special  report  on  Deserted  Wives  and  Desert- 
ing Husbands,  published  by  the  Associated  Charities  of 
Boston  in  1901,  contains  an  analysis  of  two  hundred  and 
thirty-four  families  known  to  the  district  committees  and 
agents  of  that  society.  In  the  discussion  of  the  treatment 
of  these  families  several  distinct  policies  are  described  and 
illustrated.  The  first  is  that  of  reconciliation,  which  can 
be  sought  in  only  a  small  proportion  of  cases,  either  be- 
cause the  husband's  whereabouts  cannot  be  learned  or 
because  his  character  is  "  so  bad  that  his  going  is  a  good 
riddance."  The  second  remedy  tried  by  the  Boston  So- 
ciety is  helping  the  family  by  providing  training  or 
opportunity  to  earn  self-support  in  their  own  home  with- 
out the  man's  help,  securing  help  from  relatives  being 
considered  a  part  of  this  second  remedy.  Breaking  up  the 
home  ;  caring  for  some  of  the  children  by  charity,  in  order 
that  the  rest  of  the  family  may  become  self-supporting ; 
securing  legal  separation,  followed,  if  necessary,  by  such 
relief  as  would  be  provided  for  a  widow  with  children,  are 
the  remaining  remedies  tried  and  approved,  according  to 
the  varying  circumstances  of  the  different  cases. 

The  trend  of  recent  legislation  is,  perhaps,  best  pre- 
sented by  the  provision  of  a  law  passed  by  the  Legislature 


142  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART,  i 

of  the  state  of  Illinois  in  1903.     The  first  section  of  this 
law  is  as  follows  :  — 

"  That  every  person  who  shall,  without  good  cause, 
abandon  his  wife  and  neglect  and  refuse  to  maintain  and 
provide  for  her,  or  who  shall  abandon  his  or  her  minor 
child  or  children  in  destitute  or  necessitous  circumstances 
and  wilfully  neglect  or  refuse  to  maintain  and  provide  for 
such  child  or  children,  shall  be  deemed  guilty  of  a  misde- 
meanor, and  on  conviction  thereof  shall  be  punished  by  a 
fine  of  not  less  than  one  hundred  dollars  or  more  than  five 
hundred  dollars,  or  by  imprisonment  in  the  county  jail, 
house  of  correction,  or  workhouse,  not  less  than  one  month 
or  more  than  twelve  months,  or  by  both  such  fine  and  im- 
prisonment ;  and  should  a  fine  be  imposed,  it  may  be 
directed  by  the  court  to  be  paid  in  whole  or  in  part  to  the 
wife  or  to  the  guardian  or  custodian  of  the  minor  child  or 
children;  provided  that,  before  the  trial  (with  the  consent 
of  the  defendant),  or  after  conviction,  instead  of  imposing 
the  punishment  hereinbefore  provided,  or  in  addition 
thereto,  the  court  in  its  discretion  having  regarded  the 
circumstances  and  financial  ability  of  the  defendant,  shall 
have  the  power  to  pass  an  order,  which  shall  be  subject  to 
change  by  it  from  time  to  time,  as  the  circumstances  may 
require,  directing  the  defendant  to  pay  a  certain  sum 
weekly  for  one  year  to  the  wife,  guardian,  or  custodian  of 
the  minor  child  or  children,  and  to  release  the  defendant 
from  the  custody,  on  probation,  for  the  space  of  one  year 
upon  his  or  her  entering  into  a  recognizance,  with  or  with- 
out sureties,  in  such  sums  as  the  court  may  direct.  The 
conditions  of  the  recognizance  shall  be  such  that  if  the 
defendant  shall  make  his  or  her  personal  appearance  in 
court  whenever  ordered  to  do  so  within  a  year,  and  shall 
further  comply  with  the  terms  of  the  order  or  of  any  subse- 
quent modification  thereof,  then  the  recognizance  shall  be 
void,  otherwise  of  full  force  and  effect.  If  the  court  be 
satisfied  by  information  and  due  proof,  under  oath,  that  at 
any  time  during  the  year  the  defendant  has  violated  the 
terms  of  such  order,  it  may  forthwith  proceed  with  the 
trial  of  the  defendant  under  the  original  indictment,  or 
sentence  him  or  her  under  the  original  conviction,  as  the 
case  may  be.  In  a  case  of  forfeiture  of  a  recognizance  and 


CHAP,  xi     NEW   LAWS   IN   ILLINOIS  AND   PENNSYLVANIA     143 

enforcement  thereof  by  execution,  the  sum  recovered  may, 
in  the  discretion  of  the  court,  be  paid  in  whole  or  in  part 
to  the  wife,  guardian,  or  custodian  of  the  minor  child  or 
children." 

The  second  section  describes  what  evidence  of  marriage 
and  parentage  is  essential,  and  provides  that  the  wife  shall 
be  a  competent  witness  in  any  case  brought  under  this  act. 

A  new  law  in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania  provides  simi- 
larly that,  "If  any  husband  or  father  being  within  the 
limits  of  this  Commonwealth  shall  hereafter  separate  him- 
self from  his  wife,  or  from  his  children,  or  from  wife  and 
children,  without  reasonable  cause,  and  shall  wilfully  neg- 
lect to  maintain  his  wife  or  children,  such  wife  or  chil- 
dren being  destitute,  or  being  dependent,  wholly  or  in  part, 
on  their  earnings  for  adequate  support,  he  shall  be  guilty 
of  a  misdemeanor  and  on  conviction  thereof  be  sentenced 
to  imprisonment  not  exceeding  one  year,  and  to  pay  a  fine 
not  exceeding  one  hundred  dollars,  or  either,  or  both,  at  the 
discretion  of  the  court,  such  fine,  if  any,  to  be  paid  or  ap- 
plied in  whole  or  in  part  to  the  wife  or  children,  as  the 
court  may  direct." 

This  law  also  permits  suspended  sentence,  declares  that 
a  wife  is  a  competent  witness,  and  that  proof  of  separation 
and  neglect  to  support  shall  be  prima  facie  evidence  that 
such  separation  and  neglect  are  wilful  and  without  rea- 
sonable cause  on  the  part  of  the  husband. 


CHAPTER  XII 

INTEMPERANCE 

ASIDE  from  the  death  or  desertion  of  the  breadwinner, 
the  three  great  and  constantly  recurring  causes  of  destitu- 
tion are  sickness,  lack  of  employment,  and  drink.  These 
are  not  the  only  causes.  Industrial  inefficiency,  dishon- 
esty, or  other  criminal  act,  and  a  number  of  other  causes 
not  easily  classified,  produce  their  share  of  dependent  fami- 
lies, but  as  compared  with  the  three  just  named  even  so 
considerable  a  cause  as  inefficiency  or  lack  of  training 
becomes  less  conspicuous.  Industrial  displacement  and 
the  prevention  of  disease  are  considered  in  other  chap- 
ters. We  must  now  face  more  directly  the  relief  problems 
attributable  to  drink.  It  is  a  conservative  estimate  that 
one-fourth  of  all  the  cases  of  destitution  with  which  private 
relief  agencies  have  to  deal  are  fairly  attributable  to  in- 
temperance. That  is  to  say,  in  this  proportion  of  cases 
the  death  of  the  breadwinner  or  the  loss  of  work  and  the 
difficulty  in  securing  new  employment,  or  the  exhaustion 
of  financial  resources,  or  whatever  other  reason  may  be 
assigned  at  the  time  of  application,  is  readily  and  incon- 
trovertibly  traced  back  to  intemperate  habits  on  the  part 
of  the  applicant  himself,  or  other  members  of  the  family 
whose  cooperation  is  essential  to  self-support.  There  are 
many  other  instances  in  which  the  applicant  has  been 
accustomed  to  a  greater  or  less  use  of  alcoholic  beverages, 
and  in  a  certain  proportion  of  these,  if  the  facts  could  be 
fully  known,  it  would  be  apparent  that  greater  temperance 
or  entire  abstinence  would  have  prevented  the  need  for 
outside  assistance,  but  the  same  thing  might  be  said  with 
equal  truth  of  other  more  or  less  foolish  or  wasteful  habits. 
The  estimate  made  above  includes  only  the  cases  in  which 
there  is  an  obvious  connection  between  the  use  of  alcohol 

144 


CHAP,  xii  INTEMPERANCE  AND  DISTRESS  145 

and  the  dependent  condition  in  which  the  family  is  found. 
The  question  as  to  how  much  should  be  added  to  cover 
the  cases  in  which  there  is  only  a  partial  or  indirect  respon- 
sibility is  a  matter  for  conjecture,  and  estimates  upon  this 
point  are  likely  to  differ  according  to  the  standpoint  of  the 
one  who  makes  them.  It  is  a  matter  for  conjecture  also, 
and  estimates  differ  here  again,  as  to  what  other  evil  con- 
sequences, aside  from  poverty  and  destitution,  are  due  to 
drink.  That  there  is  an  endless  train  of  evils,  aside  from 
the  burden  of  pauperism  and  dependence  which  it  entails, 
cannot  be  gainsaid.  Insanity,  suicide,  and  death  in  other 
forms  result  from  the  use  of  alcohol,  in  many  instances  in 
which  no  question  of  relief  arises.  Cruelty,  neglect,  and 
unhappiness  result  directly  from  the  use  of  alcohol  in  fami- 
lies which  are  by  no  means  near  the  verge  of  dependence. 
Crimes  are  committed  under  its  stimulus,  and  demoralizing 
associations  are  formed  or  strengthened  under  conditions 
in  which  the  use  of  alcohol  is  an  important  element,  and 
it  makes  easier  the  path  to  vice  and  the  indulgence  of  every 
debasing  appetite.  Certain  diseases,  such  as  tuberculosis 
and  pneumonia,  are  far  more  likely  to  attack  those  who  are 
subject  to  alcoholism,  and  it  greatly  impedes  the  recovery 
of  those  who  are  attacked.  These  consequences  are  not 
exhausted  in  the  lives  of  the  intemperate  themselves,  but 
are  bequeathed  to  posterity  in  various  forms  of  degeneracy, 
spiritual  and  physical. 

The  extreme  position  that  alcohol  acts  always  as  a  poison, 
and  that  it  cannot  be  taken  except  with  injurious  physical 
effects,  is  rejected  by  a  preponderance  of  medical  opinion, 
nor,  in  spite  of  the  appalling  consequences  of  alcoholism, 
can  one  find  moral  grounds  for  objecting  to  the  moderate 
use  of  alcoholic  beverages  by  those  who  find  that  they  are 
physically  beneficial  or  that  they  are  pleasurable  and  with- 
out evil  results.  The  entire  prohibition  of  the  manufacture 
and  sale  of  alcoholic  beverages  cannot  then  be  justified  on 
the  ground  that  their  use  is,  for  all  persons,  and  under  all 
circumstances,  physically  and  morally  injurious.  Prohibi- 
tion may,  however,  be  justified  on  less  extreme  grounds. 
If  it  is  established  that  for  a  very  large  proportion  of  those 
who  use  alcohol  physical  injuries  and  economic  disaster 
are  likely  to  result,  then  the  community,  even  if  it  be 


146  PRINCIPLES   OF  BELIEF  PARTI 

admitted  that  these  results  do  not  follow  with  absolute  uni- 
formity, may  wisely  determine  to  cast  out  the  active  cause 
of  so  much  distress  and  disaster.  Even  if  it  be  only  the 
weak  that  yield  to  their  appetite  and  drink  to  excess,  it 
may  still  be  best,  for  the  sake  of  those  weaker  ones,  and  in 
the  interests  of  the  community  of  which  they  are  a  part,  to 
forego  the  pleasure  and  the  beneficial  results  experienced 
in  a  few  instances.  It  is  quite  conceivable  that  a  commu- 
nity made  up  of  perfectly  rational  human  beings,  with  a 
due  regard  for  the  doctrine  of  personal  liberty  and  with  a 
just  appreciation  of  the  advantages  resulting  in  some  in- 
stances from  the  use  of  alcoholic  beverages,  when  they  look 
out  upon  the  crime  and  poverty  and  distress  which  are 
chargeable  to  its  use  by  others,  may  deliberately  decide 
that  the  brewery,  the  still,  and  the  saloon  shall  not  exist, 
or  that  whatever  alcoholic  liquors  are  produced  shall  be 
permitted  to  be  used  for  medicinal  purposes  only,  on  com- 
petent medical  advice.  This  has  been  the  attitude  of 
many  who  have  upheld  prohibition  as  a  state  policy. 
There  are  many  who  hold  views  by  no  means  extremely 
puritanical,  and  who  are  quite  ready  to  admit  that  the  mod- 
erate use  of  wine  does  not  imply  moral  obliquity,  who  are 
nevertheless  convinced  that  a  community  in  which  liquor 
cannot  be  obtained  is  a  better  place  in  which  to  bring  up 
children  and  a  safer  place  for  the  average  adult.  Maine, 
Iowa,  and  other  states  which  have  made  more  or  less  com- 
plete experiments  with  the  system  of  prohibition,  have 
come  nearest  creating  conditions  of  this  kind,  but  they 
have  not  extended  throughout  any  entire  state,  and  it  is 
probably  impossible  that  they  should.  JTA  law  prohibiting 
the  manufacture  and  sale  of  alcoholic  beverages  can  be  en- 
forced only  when  a  considerable  majority  of  the  citizens 
believe  in  its  principles.  It  is  essentially  a  law  which  must 
rest  upon  public  opinion.  Secret  and  constant  violation 
of  the  law,  which  is  always  possible  when  a  considerable 
minority  reject  the  principles  upon  which  it  rests,  and  re- 
gard the  statute  as  an  infraction  of  their  personal  liberty, 
tends  to  bring  all  law  into  contempt,  and  speedily  makes 
the  law  in  question  injurious  rather  than  beneficial.  In 
the  greater  cities  containing  a  large  foreign  population  ac- 
customed to  a  very  general  use  of  alcoholic  beverages,  and 


CHAP,  xii          PROHIBITION  — TOTAL  ABSTINENCE  147 

containing  also  a  considerable  number  of  more  or  less  reck- 
less and  vicious  persons  who  have  a  craving  for  alcohol, 
prohibition  has  seldom  been  in  successful  operation  for  any 
long  period  of  time.  In  rural  communities,  on  the  other 
hand,  and  in  the  smaller  cities  it  has  often  been  entirely 
successful,  and  children  have  grown  to  manhood,  although 
by  no  means  secluded  on  their  own  farms  or  in  their  own 
villages,  without  having  had  an  opportunity  to  drink  alco- 
holic beverages  at  their  meals  or  elsewhere.  If  prohibi- 
tion has  proved  to  be  impracticable  over  so  large  an  area 
as  a  state,  it  may  still  have,  then,  a  legitimate  place  in  the 
form  of  local  option,  and  in  many  states  the  territory  over 
which  such  option  may  be  exercised  may  be  the  county  or 
even  a  group  of  counties  acting  together. 

If  prohibition  be  not  adopted,  either  in  the  form  of  a 
state  law  or  by  the  exercise  of  local  option  in  town,  city,  or 
county,  the  remedy  which  next  suggests  itself  is  the  prac- 
tice of  total  abstinence  by  the  individual,  fortified,  it  may 
be,  by  a  solemn  pledge  not  to  partake  of  alcohol  in  any 
form.  To  the  pledge  of  total  abstinence  it  may  be  objected 
that  the  drunkard  who  takes  it  is  not  likely  to  keep  it,  and 
that  one  who  has  not  formed  the  habit  is  foolish  to  bind 
himself  unnecessarily.  There  are  many,  however,  who 
have  been  addicted  to  the  use  of  alcohol  to  their  own  in- 
jury and  that  of  others,  who  take  the  pledge  and  keep  it, 
and  there  are  others,  how  many  it  is  impossible  to  calculate, 
but  certainly  vast  numbers,  who  have  taken  a  pledge  as 
children  or  in  their  young  manhood  and  have  been  deterred 
by  that  pledge  from  forming  habits  which  would  have  been 
fatal.  It  is  wrong  to  extort  a  promise  from  one  who  is  not 
in  position  to  weigh  the  evidence,  on  a  distorted  and  ex- 
aggerated presentation  of  the  consequences  of  the  use  of 
alcohol.  Nor  is  there  occasion  for  such  exaggeration. 

The  argument  for  total  abstinence  based  merely  on  the 
chances  of  injury  is  quite  as  valid  as  that  which  leads  to 
the  practice  of  life  insurance  or  many  other  acts  which  are 
entirely  rational  and  well  advised.  Elementary  education 
in  the  schools  regarding  the  physical  effects  of  alcohol, 
and  popular  instruction  of  adults  through  lectures,  through 
the  press,  from  the  pulpit,  and  otherwise,  are  wholly  justi- 
fiable and  vitally  essential,  Reform  and  the  taking  of  a 


148  PRINCIPLES   OF   BELIEF  PARTI 

pledge  of  abstinence  often  accompany  a  religious  awaken- 
ing, and  are  among  the  finest  fruits  of  such  appeals  to  the 
higher  nature.  The  practice  of  total  abstinence  may  be 
accompanied  by  some  sacrifice  of  social  pleasures,  and  it 
may  be  that  its  universal  adoption  would  result  in  some 
subtle  injury  to  the  progress  of  the  human  race,  as  has 
been  claimed,  but  it  is  certain  that  it  would  enormously 
reduce  the  number  of  the  dependent  poor,  and  that 
it  would  make  it  possible  to  help  effectively  many  who 
in  their  slavery  to  the  drink  habit  are  beyond  human 
aid. 

There  are  many  with  whom  alcoholism  is  essentially 
a  disease,  and  unfortunately  very  often  an  incurable  dis- 
ease. Life  may  then  come  to  an  early  end,  or  it  may  be 
prolonged  with  periodic  debauches  at  shorter  or  longer 
intervals  through  many  years.  The  unfortunate  victim, 
whatever  the  circumstances  under  which  the  habit  was 
fastened  upon  him,  may  become  an  object  of  infinite  pity 
in  the  end.  The  most  heroic  attempts  for  the  sake  of  the 
family  may  be  in  vain,  and  the  most  sincere  and  apparently 
complete  reformation  may  be  succeeded  by  repeated  col- 
lapse. For  such  diseased  persons  the  most  skilful  medical 
care  is  needed,  and  often  confinement,  voluntary  or  invol- 
untary, for  a  prolonged  period.  There  are  various  secret 
remedies,  some  of  which  present  credible  evidence  of  cures 
effected  by  their  instrumentality.  It  is,  however,  for  the 
medical  profession  to  test  these  remedies,  and  resort  to 
them  with  the  aid  of  relief  funds  is  rarely  advisable,  and, 
if  at  all,  only  with  the  knowledge  and  consent  of  a  reputable 
physician.  The  layman  may  not  be  in  position  to  appreci- 
ate all  the  details  of  the  code  of  ethics  recognized  by  the 
medical  profession,  but  with  the  position  that  any  remedy 
or  preventive  of  disease  known  to  a  physician  must  be 
divulged  to  his  brethren  of  the  medical  profession,  under 
penalty  that  one  who  fails  to  do  this  sacrifices  his  own  pro- 
fessional standing,  all  the  world  must  agree.  Homes  for 
intemperate  men — for  the  reformation  of  drunkards ;  spe- 
cial hospitals  or  sanatoria  for  the  medical  treatment  of 
such  as  desire  to  be  cured  of  an  appetite  beyond  voluntary 
control,  are  essential  parts  of  a  general  relief  system.  The 
most  important  single  step  that  could  be  taken  for  the 


CHAP,  xii  ALCOHOLISM  A  DISEASE  149 

eradication  of  the  curse  of  intemperance  would  be  the  early 
recognition  of  the  symptoms  of  habitual  drunkenness,  and 
the  sentence  of  every  person  who  has  reached  this  stage 
either  to  a  hospital  or  to  the  custody  of  a  competent  proba- 
tion officer,  until  cured.1  The  substitution  of  this  plan 
for  the  present  utterly  useless  and  absurd  fines  and  short 
sentences  to  jail  or  workhouse  would  be  both  humane  and 
scientific.  A  further  step  would  be  the  creation  of  a  farm  -\ 
colony,  comprising  a  series  of  hospitals  and  institutions 
for  different  grades  of  patients,  to  which  those  who  need 
such  treatment  could  be  sent,  and  in  which  they  could  be 
kept  until,  in  the  judgment  of  a  competent  examining 
board,  they  are  ready  to  be  restored  to  their  place  in 
society.  Within  the  institution,  inmates  might,  as  a  rule, 
during  the  greater  part  of  their  stay  be  fully  self-support- 
ing. This  system  would  be  applicable  not  only  to  victims 
of  alcohol,  but  to  such  as  are  addicted  to  opium  or  other 
harmful  drugs.  To  this  radical  policy  for  the  treatment 
of  inebriates,  a  physician  has  objected  on  the  ground  that 
it  is  condemning  those  who  have  committed  no  crime  to 
"experimenters  armed  with  a  hyperdermic  needle."  In 
reply  to  this  cynical  estimate  of  the  present  capacity  of 
the  medical  profession  to  deal  with  one  of  the  largest  class 
of  those  who  are  undoubtedly  afflicted  by  disease,  it  is  suf- 
ficient to  point  out  that  insane  patients  are  similarly 
intrusted  to  medical  "  experimenters  "  and  on  the  whole 
with  good  results. 

The  giving  of  aid  in  the  homes  of  those  who  are  addicted 
to  drink  is  attended  by  grave  dangers.  Relief  should 
always  be  conditioned  upon  some  definite  and  radical  steps 
toward  the  curing  of  the  real  evil.  It  cannot  be  declared 
at  what  point  attempts  to  reform  the  drunkard  should  be 
so  far  abandoned  as  is  involved  in  a  separation  of  wife  and 
children  from  one  who,  through  drink,  makes  himself  in- 
capable of  caring  for  them,  and  yet  this  point  is  reached  in 
extreme  cases,  and  the  interests  of  the  family  require  either 
a  temporary  or  a  final  breaking  up  of  the  home.  This  may 
require  a  prosecution  of  the  husband  for  non-support,  ac- 

1  See  a  paper  presented  at  the  Chicago  International  Conference  of 
Charities  and  Correction,  1893,  by  T.  D.  Crothers,  M.D.,  on  the  "  Problem 
of  Inebriate  Pauperism. " 


150  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

companied  it  may  be  by  cruelty  or  neglect,  or  only  tem- 
porary institutional  care  of  some  kind  may  be  needed. 
Graver  still  is  the  situation  when  it  is  the  mother,  or 
when  it  is  both  parents,  that  are  addicted  to  drink.  Reli- 
gious influence;  the  personal  influence  of  some  one  who 
will  take  a  genuinely  friendly  interest  in  the  family;  the 
withholding  of  relief  except  on  such  conditions  as  will 
tend  to  insure  sobriety;  medical  treatment  in  appropriate 
cases;  and  custodial  care  under  reformative  and  educa- 
tional influences,  are  remedies  which  may  be  brought  to 
bear  somewhat  in  the  order  named,  keeping  always  in 
mind,  especially  in  considering  the  young,  that  the  real 
remedies  are  the  strengthening  of  character  and  the 
removal  of  temptation  from  those  who  are  weak. 


CHAPTER  XIII 

INDUSTRIAL   DISPLACEMENT 

LACK  of  employment,  which,  at  the  time  of  application, 
is  given  in  the  great  majority  of  instances  as  the  reason 
for  being  in  need,  is  usually  found  on  inquiry  to  be  due  to 
some  personal  deficiency  in  the  employee.  He  has  been 
discharged  for  intemperance,  for  inefficiency,  for  inability 
to  meet  the  demands  upon  him,  or  for  some  objectionable 
trait  which  may  or  may  not  have  anything  to  do  with  his 
actual  efficiency  for  the  particular  task  upon  which  he  was 
engaged.  In  a  certain  proportion  of  instances,  however,  by 
no  means  insignificant  in  the  aggregate,  destitution  is  due 
to  lack  of  employment,  which  cannot  properly  be  charged 
to  any  fault  of  the  employee.  Loss  of  employment,  in- 
deed, is  a  frequent  occurrence,  and  although  it  does  not  as 
a  rule  result  in  immediate  destitution,  it  is  almost  always 
a  matter  of  very  serious  consequence  to  the  laborer  and 
his  family.  The  introduction  of  machinery ;  changes  in 
methods  of  industry ;  a  falling  off  in  the  demand  for  par- 
ticular commodities ;  disturbances  of  credit ;  or  the  mere 
substitution  of  a  new  management  in  a  particular  indus- 
trial enterprise,  which  is  either  more  or  less  efficient  than 
the  old,  may  have  the  effect  of  throwing  persons  out  of 
work.  If  they  are  young  and  adapt  themselves  readily  to 
new  circumstances,  comparatively  little  harm  may  result. 
There  may  be  demand  elsewhere  for  the  same  kind  of 
work  which  they  have  been  doing,  or  they  may  be  able  to 
do  something  different  and  thus  find  employment  where 
there  is  a  demand.  The  laborer  who  has  had  in  youth  a 
varied  manual  training,  and  who  is  not  readily  discour- 
aged, will  be  less  likely  to  suffer  seriously  from  such  en- 
forced changes.  The  man  who  has  accumulated  some 

151 


152  PRINCIPLES    OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

savings  will  also  be  at  a  great  advantage  when  forced  to 
look  about  for  new  employment. 

It  is  not  surprising,  however,  that  where  there  is  a 
high  standard  of  living,  and  where  rapid  and  exhausting 
labor  is  the  rule,  industrial  changes  should  come,  in  some 
instances,  to  those  who,  on  account  of  age  and  exceptional 
hardships,  cannot  readily  adjust  themselves  to  the  new  situ- 
ation, and  who,  consequently,  become  dependent  through 
no  exceptional  neglect  or  fault  on  their  own  part.  At 
worst  their  failure  to  provide  for  such  a  situation  may 
indicate  a  failure  to  realize  the  probability  of  its  occur- 
rence, and  the  expenditures  that  have  been  made  may  all 
have  been  for  perfectly  legitimate  and  desirable  objects. 
It  is  under  such  circumstances  that  industrial  displace- 
ment is  properly  regarded  as  a  real  cause  of  distress.  If 
it  is  accompanied  by  intemperance  or  dishonesty  or  ineffi- 
ciency or  laziness ;  or  if  it  is  followed  by  desertion  of 
family  or  the  adoption  of  any  other  criminal  method  of 
escape  from  the  consequences,  those  features  of  the  situ- 
ation must  be  dealt  with  on  their  merits.  When,  how- 
ever, there  are  no  such  complicating  factors,  it  becomes 
the  more  necessary  to  give  assistance  in  reestablishing  the 
applicant  in  some  suitable  occupation.  The  first  principle 
f  to  be  recognized  is  that  the  obligation  to  find  employment, 
like  the  obligation  to  continue  suitable  employment  when 
one  has  it,  rests  primarily  upon  the  applicant  himself. 
It  is  quite  possible  to  undermine  self-reliance  by  doing 
gratuitously  the  things  which  a  self-respecting  man  will  do 
for  himself.  The  search  from  one  place  to  another  among 
the  establishments  in  which  it  would  be  appropriate  to 
make  application  for  work ;  the  scrutiny  of  want  adver- 
tisements; the  study  of  the  pages  of  a  business  directory; 
consultation  with  fellow-workmen  in  the  same  branch  of 
industry;  and  registration  in  a  reputable  employment 
agency,  are  all  means  of  which  use  may  be  made  by  the 
man  in  search  of  work.  ( 

It  is  true  that  there  are  instances  in  which  the  most 
desperate  efforts  to  find  employment  are  unsuccessful; 
and  when  week  has  succeeded  week,  and  month  has  suc- 
ceeded month  in  fruitless  efforts,  the  seeker  for  employ- 
ment may  become  despondent,  and  by  his  very  lack  of 


CHAP,  xin     UNEMPLOYMENT   IN  ORDINARY  TIMES  153 

success  reduced  to  a  physical  and  mental  condition  in 
which  further  unaided  search  becomes  impossible.  Suc- 
cessive failures  finally  rob  the  applicant  for  work  even  of 
the  power  to  imagine  himself  able  to  succeed,  and  the  most 
trivial  obstacle  becomes  magnified  into  one  that  appears 
insuperable.  Before  this  condition  has  been  reached  the 
lack  of  income  has  often  reduced  the  family  to  a  destitute 
condition,  although  the  wages  of  wife  or  children  may 
have  replaced  those  of  the  natural  breadwinner.  When 
the  situation  is  such  that  relief  must  be  supplied  if  em- 
ployment cannot  be  provided,  and  there  is  nevertheless 
an  able-bodied  man  in  the  family,  it  is  obviously  both 
charitable  and  economical  to  give  a  helping  hand  in  the 
finding  of  suitable  employment  as  a  substitute  for  relief, 
or,  more  accurately,  as  a  means  of  relief.  This  may  be 
done  through  a  free  employment  bureau,  or  an  employ- 
ment bureau  in  which  payment  of  registration  fee  may  be 
deferred  until  it  can  be  met  from  wages,  or  through  the 
payment  of  registration  fee  as  a  gift  or  loan  to  the  appli- 
cant, or  through  personal  solicitation  on  the  applicant's 
behalf  among  possible  employers.  The  funds  of  chari- 
table societies  and  the  energies  of  their  agents  and  visi- 
tors should  not  be  absorbed  in  performing  the  services 
which  naturally  belong  to  ordinary  business  employment 
agencies,  but  when  the  alternative  lies  between  charitable 
aid  and  employment,  the  latter  becomes  a  legitimate  choice 
and  this  objection  disappears. 

Reference  is  here  made  to  individual  instances  of  unem- 
ployment arising  under  normal  industrial  conditions.  In 
a  period  of  exceptional  stress,  when  large  numbers  are 
thrown  out  of  employment  simultaneously,  there  may  arise 
a  need  for  extraordinary  relief  measures  such  as  are 
described  in  the  chapter  in  Part  IV  on  Industrial  Distress 
in  New  York  and  Indianapolis  in  the  Winter  of  1893-1894. 
It  may  be  assumed  that  employment  is  to  be  found  in 
ordinary  times  if  there  is  the  ordinary  persistence  in  seek- 
ing it,  or  that  the  laborer  will  have  enough  laid  by  to  tide 
over  any  brief  period  of  compulsory  idleness.  Insurance 
against  the  hardships  of  unemployment  may  take  the  form 
of  out-of-work  benefits  in  a  trade-union  or  of  deposits  in 
a  savings  bank.  It  is  incumbent  upon  relief  agencies  not 


154  PRINCIPLES  OF   RELIEF  PART  i 

to  discourage  the  disposition  to  make  such  independent 
provision  for  slack  times,  and  not  to  place  at  an  apparent 
financial  advantage  through  charitable  gifts  those  who, 
because  of  inefficiency,  laziness,  or  other  defect,  are  first 
laid  off  when  the  number  of  employees  is  reduced. 

A  few  years  ago  a  careful  study  of  industrial  dis- 
placement and  unemployment,  as  a  cause  of  distress,  was 
made  by  Francis  H.  McLean  from  the  records  of  the 
New  York  Charity  Organization  Society.  The  720  cases 
selected  were  those  in  which  lack  of  employment  or  insuffi- 
cient employment  was  assigned  as  the  chief  cause  of  need 
among  those  who  applied  to  the  society  for  the  first  time 
in  the  year  ending  June  30,  1896.  There  were  in  all  924 
such  cases  out  of  a  total  of  1884  families  known  to  the 
society  for  the  first  time  that  year.  Of  the  720  case 
records  examined  it  was  ascertained  that  the  decisions 
in  107  instances  were  subsequently,  on  fuller  knowledge 
of  the  families  and  deliberation  by  the  district  committees, 
reversed,  and  some  other  cause  of  destitution  assigned. 
Mr.  McLean  found,  on  examining  the  records,  that  the 
committees  were  usually  right  in  reversing  the  earlier 
decisions,  and  as  a  result  of  this  inquiry  the  Society's 
method  of  tabulating  these  results  was  modified  so  that 
the  final  official  decisions  of  the  district  committees  were 
thereafter  recorded. 

There  were  eleven  cases  in  which,  although  application 
for  assistance  was  made,  and  there  was  at  the  outset 
apparent  need,  it  was  subsequently  found  that  there  was 
really  no  destitution.  These  eleven  cases,  and  the  107  in 
which  the  decisions  of  the  agents  were  reversed,  were 
omitted  from  the  classification.  Of  the  remaining  502  it 
was  ascertained  that  there  were  332  cases  in  which  the 
chief  cause  of  need  was  unemployment,  and  164  in  which 
the  displacement  was  not  industrial,  while  there  were  106 
cases  which  were  doubtful.  Dividing  the  latter  equally 
between  the  first  two  classes,  it  would  appear  that  53.3 
per  cent  of  the  720  cases  examined  were  genuine  cases  of 
unemployment.  By  this  analysis  the  percentage  of  cases 
credited  to  unemployment  is  reduced  from  49  to  26.1  per 
cent.  In  the  following  table  Mr.  McLean  classifies  the 
causes  in  detail :  — 


1 

CHAP,  xni  ANALYSIS  OF  CASE   RECOKDS  155 

A.  CAUSES  OF  DISPLACEMENT  —  INDUSTRIAL:  — 

1.  General  dulness  in  business  ......  73 

2.  Seasonal  dulness  in  trade 58  l 

3.  Insufficient  employment         ......  61 

4.  Inability  to  earn  livelihood  in  independent  business    .  26 

5.  Failure  in  independent  business 14 

6.  Failure  of  employers 7 

7.  Changes  in  business  arrangements        .        .        .        .  11 2 

8.  Closing  of  business  houses  or  factories          ...  11 

9.  To  moke  room  for  relative  of  employer        ...        2 

10.  Not  yet  located  in  new  industrial  centre       ...       13 

11.  Crowded  out  by  younger  men 5 

12.  Changes  in   domestic  arrangements  on  the  part  of 

employers 10 

13.  Dynamic  movement  in  trade          .         .        .         .         .        3 8 

14.  Direct  or  indirect  result  of  strike  ....         2 

15.  Permanent  injury  to  health  resulting  from  practice  of 

regular  trade       ........  3 

16.  Not  fitted  for  place  occupied          .....  2 

17.  Poorly  paid  employment 1 

18.  Industrial  inefficiency    .         .        .         .         .  '  .  5 

19.  Old  age 5 

20.  Physical  infirmities 3 

21.  Miscellaneous         .        .        .        .        .        .        .        .  17 

332 

B.  CAUSES  OF  DISPLACEMENT  —  PERSONAL  :  — 

1.  Shiftlessness 33 

2.  Intemperance 15 

3.  Sickness          .         . 38 

4.  Death  of  member  of  family 4 

5.  Accident 12 

6.  Immorality 2 

7.  Voluntary  displacement 11 

8.  Quarrel  with  employers         ......  13 

9.  Disobedience  to  orders           ......  3 

10.  Character  weaknesses  20 

11.  Dishonesty '3 

12.  Improvidence         .         .         .         .        .         .        .         .        2 4 

13.  General  pauperism 8  4 

164 

1  Logically  we  should  carry  our  investigation  one  step  farther  in  these 
instances,  for  of  course  such  seasonal  depressions  come  periodically  and 
can  be  anticipated.     Why,  then,  did  these  families  come  to  want  during 
any  particular  depression  ?     But  as  the  number  of  cases  is  comparatively 
small  it  seems  hardly  worth  while  to  make  the  further  analysis.    It  is 
sufficient  to  say  that  in  eleven  instances  intemperance  can  easily  be 
traced,  and  sickness  in  the  family  in  six. 

2  For  instance,  a  firm  changing  hands,  the  new  proprietors  hiring  men 
of  their  own  choice.  8  Such  as  the  introduction  of  machinery. 

4  These  last  two  heads  do  not  necessarily  indicate  displacement  at  all. 
It  is  hard  to  justify  the  decisions  of  the  committee  in  even  considering 
them  as  unemployment  cases. 


166 


PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF 


It  was  also  attempted  to  ascertain  how  far  the  statistics 
indicate  industrial  contraction.1  It  is  pointed  out  that  in 
most  of  the  occupations  from  which  applicants  for  relief 
come,  the  dynamic  movements  are  not  great;  but  that 
there  is  an  actual  diminution  in  the  number  of  men  re- 
quired in  particular  trades  is  clearly  indicated  in  a  num- 
ber of  instances.  Four  hundred  and  seventy-three  cases 
are  tabulated  for  this  purpose  as  follows  :  — 


NUMBER  OF 
CASKS 

PER  CENT 

1.    Cases  of  displacement  indicating  industrial 
contraction  
2.   Cases  of  insufficient,  irregular,  or  poorly  paid 
employment          
3.    Replacement  indicating  no  character  weak- 
nesses .         .         .         .         .         . 
4.   Replacement  indicating  character  weaknesses 

106 
159 

128 
80 

22.4 
33.6 

27.1 
16.9 

473 

100 

The  term  " character  weakness"  of  course  refers  to 
the  person  displaced  who  applies  for  aid.  It  appears  by 
the  table  that  simple  replacement  of  one  laborer  by  an- 
other is  indicated  in  44  per  cent  of  the  total  number  of 
cases.  The  replacement  in  a  majority  of  cases  proceeded 
from  no  character  weakness.  Of  course  much  of  the  re- 
placement was  due  to  such  causes  as  sickness,  accident,  etc. 

In  enumerating  the  occupations  of  the  displaced,  Mr. 
McLean  calls  attention  to  an  element  of  uncertainty 
arising  from  a  tendency  on  the  part  of  applicants  to  rep- 
resent themselves  as  engaged  in  a  slightly  higher  occupa- 
tion than  that  in  which  they  really  have  been  engaged. 
Thus  rough  laborers  who  have  assisted  artisans  become 
transformed  into  artisans.  From  the  records,  however, 
the  impression  is  that  those  who  call  themselves  tradesmen 
are  in  fact  tradesmen,  although  often  on  a  meagre  scale. 

1  It  is  only  "localized"  industrial  contraction  that  is  here  meant. 
What  might,  by  contrast,  be  called  "  sheer  "  industrial  contraction  — 
that  is,  a  reduction  in  one  plant,  without  any  corresponding  increase  in 
others.  This,  however,  we  have  no  satisfactory  means  of  determining. 
The  table  shows  actual  contraction  in  certain  industrial  plants,  which 
includes  an  indefinite  amount  of  "  sheer  "  contraction. 


CHAP.   XIII 


BY   OCCUPATIONS  AND   AGE 


157 


TABLE  SHOWING  OCCUPATIONS 


NUMBER  OP 
CASES 

PER  CENT 

1.    Unskilled  men  (ordinary  laborers) 

78 

15.7 

2.    Unskilled  women  (cleaners,  ordinary  wash- 

ers, etc.)     

54 

10.9 

3.    Laundresses  and  seamstresses 

36 

7.3 

4.    Porters,  packers,  and  drivers 

41 

8.3 

5.    Stablemen,  janitors,  elevator  and  hotel  men, 

etc.      ........ 

19 

3.8 

33 

6.7 

7.    Tobacco  and  cigar  trades      .... 

14 

2.8 

8.    Clothing  trades      ...... 

20 

4 

9.    Building  trades      ...... 

34 

6.9 

10.   Foundry  and  metal  trades     . 

13 

2.6 

11.    Upholstering  and  furnishing  trades 

9 

1.8 

12.    Mechanical  and  skilled  trades 

29 

5.9 

13.   Bakers   

4 

.8 

14.    Clerks,  bookkeepers,  and  salesmen 

25 

5.0 

15.    Shoe  and  leather  trades         .... 

7 

1.4 

1G.   Printers  and  compositors       .... 

7 

1.4 

17.   Marble  and  stone  workers     .... 

12 

2.4 

18.    Furriers          ....... 

4 

.8 

19.   Professional  and  semi-professional       .     -   . 

16i 

3.2 

20.   Dressmakers  

8 

1.6 

21.   Miscellaneous        

33 

6.7 

496 

100 

An  analysis  of  496  cases  by  ages  gives  the  following 
results :  — 

AGE  ANALYSIS 


AGE 

NUMBER  OF  CASEJ 

PER  CENT 

Twenty  to  twenty-five  .... 
Twenty-five  to  thirty    .... 

33 

64 

6.7 
12.9 

Thirty  to  thirty-five      .... 

120 

24.2 

Thirty-five  to  forty        .... 
Forty  to  forty-five         .... 

95 
74 

19.2 
14.9 

Forty-five  to  fifty  

47 

9.5 

23 

4.6 

Fifty-five  to  sixty  

25 

5.0 

Over  sixty     

15 

3.0 

496 

100 

Including  stenographer,  1  ;  inventor,  1  ;  dentist,  1  ;  journalists,  2  ; 


fresco  painter,  1  ;  clarinet  player,  1 ;  midwives,  2 
nurses,  4  ;  scene  painter,  1  ;  artist,  1. 


veterinary  surgeon,  1 


158 


PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF 


The  next  table  shows  the  period  elapsing  between  last 
regular  employment  and  application  to  the  society  for 
assistance.  In  some  instances  families  doubtless  received 
aid  from  other  sources  before  the  present  application. 
Most  of  them,  however,  appear  from  the  records  to  have 
had  no  previous  assistance. 

Classifying  results  according  to  certain  time  groups,  we 
find :  — 


.»  -TIME  FROM  DISPLACEMENT  TO  APPLICATION 

NUMBER  OF  CASES 

PER  CENT 

Work  (although  insufficient)  to  date  . 
Less  than  three  months 

79  * 

185  2 

15.9 

37.3 

Three  to  six  months      .... 

58 

11.7 

Six  to  twelve  months    .... 

32 

6.5 

One  year  or  over  

17 

3.4 

Uncertain      

125  3 

25.2 

496 

100 

Mr.  McLean  presents  also  a  table  indicating  the  length 
of  time  covered  by  the  business  references  given  by  appli- 
cants, this  tabulation  covering  578  cases. 


AGES  OF  APPLICANTS 

TIME  PERIOD  COVERED 
BY  BUSINESS  KEFER- 

20-30 

30-40 

40-50 

Over  50 

Totals 

ENCES 

No. 

Per 

Cent 

No. 

Per 

Cent 

No. 

Per 
Cent 

No. 

Per 
Cent 

No. 

Per 
Cent 

Having  no  refer- 

ences .... 

25 

22.7 

40 

15.9 

26 

18.4 

15 

20 

106 

18.3 

Uncertain  .     .     . 

22 

20 

87 

34.5 

49 

34.8 

31 

41.3 

189 

32.7 

Less     than    two 

years  .... 

23 

20.9 

44 

17.5 

18 

12.8 

10 

13.3 

95 

16.4 

Two  to  five  years 

25 

22.7 

42 

16.6 

20 

14 

6 

8 

93 

16.1 

Five  to  ten  years 

13 

11.9 

29 

11.5 

14 

10 

8 

10.7 

64 

11.1 

Ten    to    twenty 

years  .... 

2 

1.8 

10 

4 

14 

10 

5 

6.7 

31 

5.4 

Totals    .... 

110 

100 

252 

100 

141 

100 

75 

100 

578 

100 

1  A  large  number  of  these  were  washerwomen  and  cleaners. 

2  Of  these  71  applied  during  the  first  month. 

8  Includes  a  number  of  men  who  rely  for  support  upon  odd  jobs. 


CHAP,  xin      LENGTH   OF   IDLENESS  — REFERENCES 


159 


The  extremes  from  this  table  indicate  that  18.3  per 
cent  of  the  applicants  whose  records  were  examined  have 
no  recorded  industrial  history,  aside  from  cases  of  misrep- 
resentation. There  were  32.7  per  cent  who  gave  refer- 
ences which  could  not  be  verified.  While  most  of  these 
were  fictitious,  there  were  doubtless  some  who  could  not 
be  located  because  of  removals  or  for  other  reasons.  Those 
who  gave  no  references  and  a  part  of  those  whose  refer- 
ences could  not  be  verified  are  to  a  large  extent  men  who 
live  by  odd  jobs.  For  16.1  per  cent  on  the  other  hand 
employment  can  be  traced  over  periods  ranging  from  two 
to  five  years,  and  for  16.5  per  cent  over  periods  ranging 
from  five  to  twenty  years.  More  definite  information 
affecting  displacement  where  it  involves  the  greatest  hard- 
ship is  given  in  the  following  table,  showing  for  certain 
selected  trade-groups  the  period  covered  by  business  ref- 
erences ending,  it  will  be  remembered,  in  lack  of  employ- 
ment, in  the  majority  of  instances  due  entirely  to  industrial, 
and  not  to  personal,  causes  :  — 


TRADE  GROUPS  SELECTED 


TIME  PERIODS  COVERED  BY  BUSINESS 
REFERENCES  (SELECTED) 


2  to  5  years 

5  to  10  years 

10  to  20  years 

Unskilled  men 

14 

5 

5 

Unskilled  women 

3 

2 

2 

Building 
Domestic  service  . 

6 

7 

0 
5 

3 
1 

Miscellaneous  trades 

11 

7 

6 

Clothing 

5 

2 

2 

Tobacco 

3 

2 

0 

Clerks,  bookkeepers,  etc. 
Porters,  packers,  and  drivers 

8 
25 

6 
14 

1 
4 

Foundry  and  metal  trades   . 

11 

5 

2 

Totals    

93 

48 

26 

One  further  point  in  the  industrial  history  of  the  appli- 
cants is  examined,  viz.,  the  length  of  time  covered  by  the 
last  regular  employment.  In  130  cases  out  of  578  previ- 
ously examined  it  is  impossible  from  the  record  to  ascertain 
this  period  :  — 


160 


PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF 


TIME  COVERED  BY  LAST  KEGTJLAR  EMPLOYMENT 

NUMBER  OF 

CASES 

PER  CENT 

Less  than  one  month       

14 

61 

3.1 
13.6 

Four  to  six  months          

16 
40 

3.6 

8.9 

One  to  two  years     .         .         . 
Two  to  three  years           

26 
27 
22 

5.8 
6 
4.9 

12 

2.7 

34 

7.6 

17 

3.8 

Irregular           ....... 

179 

40 

448  i 

100 

Thus  40  per  cent  of  the  cases  considered  appear  to 
have  been,  temporarily  at  least,  unable  to  get  permanently 
placed.  They  were  only  irregularly  employed  even  when 
they  last  had  employment.  Thirty-eight  and  eight-tenths 
per  cent,  however,  had  been  regularly  employed  for  over  a 
year.  Exclusively  of  the  regularly  employed,  there  were 
91,  or  23.3  per  cent,  with  whom  displacement  had  appar- 
ently occurred  twice  within  six  months.  Some  of  the  sea- 
sonal trades  are  represented  in  this  table,  and  on  the  whole 
it  appears  to  indicate  a  fair  degree  of  economic  stability. 
It  is  of  interest  to  add  that,  of  473  applicants  at  the  time 
when  the  inquiry  was  made,  190,  or  40  per  cent  of  all  ap- 
plicants, were  satisfactorily  returned  to  industrial  activity, 
either  by  their  own  efforts  (153  cases),  or  by  the  efforts  of 
the  society  (37  cases).  Fifty-one  persons,  on  the  other 
hand,  or  10.8  per  cent,  secured  only  temporary  work  in 
some  inferior  trade  or  occupation.  Of  the  254  persons 
who  secured  work  of  some  kind,  temporary  material  re- 
lief had  been  provided  in  50  cases,  relief  and  temporary 
employment  in  wood  yard,  laundry,  and  workrooms  in 
76  cases ;  and  temporary  employment  in  wood  yard,  work 
rooms  or  laundry  in  49  cases  ;  while  109  were  advised 
and  directed  without  material  aid. 

It  is  unfortunate  that  there  are  not  available  similar  sta- 
tistics from  other  societies,  or  from  the  same  society  for 
other  periods,  and  that  there  are  not  accessible  statistics 
1  Obtained  by  subtracting  the  130  eliminated  from  578. 


CHAP,  xin  RELIEF  AND   UNEMPLOYMENT  161 

from  trade-unions,  employment  agencies,  and  labor  bureaus 
in  which  unemployment,  due  to  natural  causes,  is  distin- 
guished, as  in  these  tables,  from  lack  of  employment  due 
to  personal  qualities  of  the  employee.  It  is  true  that  the 
statistics  of  charitable  societies  will  naturally  afford  a  very 
much  larger  percentage  of  cases  in  which  employment  has 
been  lost  through  inefficiency  or  personal  defects  than  would 
be  found  in  statistics  from  the  other  sources  named  in  any 
period  of  general  unemployment.  It  is,  of  course,  the  least 
desirable  who  are  first  displaced  and  whose  periods  of  un- 
employment are  longest.  To  deduct  the  total  number  of 
those  who,  from  the  employers'  statement,  would  appear 
to  have  been  displaced  on  account  of  personal  deficiencies 
from  the  number  of  the  unemployed,  would  be  a  misleading 
method  of  determining  the  extent  of  industrial  contrac- 
tion. These  can  better  be  spared  than  the  more  efficient 
or  trustworthy  laborers,  but  it  does  not  follow  that  if  all 
had  been  equally  capable  and  satisfactory,  all  could  have 
been  retained. 

Among  the  means  by  which  those  who  are  brought  to 
destitution  by  lack  of  employment  may  be  replaced  in  their 
original  or  other  suitable  occupation  are  :  — 

I.  The  use  of  employment  agencies  and  of  newspaper 
advertisements. 

II.  Direct  appeal  to  possible  employers  of  labor,  and 
cooperation  with  the  trade-union. 

III.  The  creation  of  industrial  colonies  or  industries  in 
which,  under  direction,  those  who  cannot  be  placed  in  regu- 
lar   industries  may  become,  to  a  greater  or  less  extent, 
self-supporting. 

I V.  The  use  of  temporary  industries,  e.g.  wood  yard, 
broom  factory,  laundry,  workrooms  for  unskilled,  etc.,  as 
a  work  test,  as  a  means  of  training,  and  as  a  substitute 
for  direct  relief,  and 

V.  Material  relief,  duly  safeguarded,  pending  efforts 
by  the  applicant  and  others  to  secure  employment  through 
one  or  more  of  the  means  above  enumerated.     In  ordinary 
times,  this  resource  will  not  be  required  for  the  able-bodied. 


CHAPTER  XIV 

IMMIGRATION 

THE  relief  problem  of  the  American  seaboard  cities  is 
greatly  affected  by  immigration.  The  immigrant  of  the 
twentieth  century  offers  little  resemblance  to  the  colo- 
nist of  the  early  days  of  the  republic.  The  colonist  was 
establishing  new  outposts  of  civilization ;  he  was  one  who 
was  capable  of  making  his  way  in  the  face  of  adverse 
circumstances  ;  he  was  influenced  by  some  strong  religious 
or  political  or  economic  motive,  and  felt  within  himself 
a  daring  and  strength  of  character  sufficient  to  overcome 
the  dangers,  the  loneliness,  and  the  privations  of  the 
frontier.  Colonization  is,  in  short,  one  of  those  differ- 
entiating agencies  leading  to  the  selection  and  survival  of 
such  as  have  initiative  and  exceptional  capacity.  Immi- 
gration, on  the  other  hand,  offers  a  comparatively  easy 
escape  from  hard  conditions.  The  immigrant  is  one  who 
follows  in  a  path  already  made  easy.  He  goes  where  his 
friends  or  relatives  have  gone,  and  settles  in  the  spot 
where  they  have  settled.  He  yields  to  the  artifices  of 
transportation  agents,  or  may  even  be  assisted  by  the 
public  authorities  of  his  own  community  to  emigrate  for 
his  country's  good.  Until  there  is  legal  interference 
he  comes  under  a  contract  to  work  at  occupations  and 
under  industrial  conditions  about  which  he  may  be  entirely 
ignorant,  thus  lending  himself  readily  to  a  lowering  of  the 
standard  both  of  living  and  of  wages.  He  is  scarcely 
conscious  even  of  the  handicap  of  speaking  a  foreign 
language,  since  he  is  worked  and  lodged  with  others  of  his 
own  nationality,  and  under  foremen  who  can  speak  to  him 
in  his  own  tongue. 

The  immigrant  who  goes  under  tempting  circumstances 
to  a  place  literally  prepared  for  his  arrival  has,  therefore, 

162 


CHAP,  xiv       THE   IMMIGRANT  AND  THE   COLONIST  163 

rather  less  than  the  average  initiative,  independence,  and 
courage,  the  qualities  which  are  so  predominant  in  the 
original  settlers  of  a  new  country.  This  is,  of  course,  by 
no  means  a  correct  description  of  all  immigrants.  There 
may  be  little  difference  between  the  best  immigrant  and 
the  best  colonist,  or  even  between  the  majority  of  immi- 
grants and  the  majority  of  colonists.  The  description 
applies  rather  to  the  marginal  colonist  and  immigrant 
respectively  —  to  the  least  efficient  class  who  are  neverthe- 
less represented  in  each  in  considerable  numbers.  In  the 
frontier  colony  the  minimum  wage-earning  capacity  and 
industrial  efficiency  is  necessarily  high  ;  in  the  immigrant 
it  may  be  very  low,  and  it  is  with  these  marginal  immi- 
grants that  relief  agencies  have  chiefly  to  deal. 

The  Immigration  Laws  of  the  United  States  have  been 
framed  to  some  extent  explicitly  to  meet  this  situation. 
Not  only  is  it  made  unlawful  for  lunatics,  feeble-minded 
persons,  and  habitual  criminals  to  enter,  but  those  who 
are  "  liable  to  become  public  charges  "  are  also  excluded, 
and  large  discretion  is  necessarily  lodged  in  officials  sta- 
tioned at  the  various  points  of  entry,  in  determining 
whether  particular  persons  are  not  included  in  this  cate- 
gory. The  possession  of  a  stipulated  sum  of  money,  or 
positive  assurance  from  a  friend  or  relative  apparently 
worthy  of  confidence  that  the  applicant  for  admission  will 
not  become  a  public  charge,  is  regarded  as  evidence  of 
eligibility  for  admission.  No  such  test,  however,  can 
effectively  bar  out  all  who  are  on  the  brink  of  depend- 
ence, and  as  a  matter  of  fact  many  immigrants  do  become 
public  charges,  either  in  their  own  person  or  through  the 
commitment  of  their  children  to  public  institutions,  within 
a  few  years  of  their  arrival. 

The  assisted  ocean  passage  and  the  ready  employment 
on  arrival,  to  which  reference  have  been  made,  although 
they  serve  to  attract  less  efficient  and  intelligent  laborers, 
are  advantages  which  are  not  to  be  had  for  nothing.  By 
excessively  long  hours,  by  overcrowded,  unsanitary  tene- 
ments, and  by  insufficient  wages,  the  immigrant  returns 
full  measure  of  payment  for  his  escape  from  the  struggle 
for  independence  and  its  initial  hardships.  Initial  obstacles 
have  been  removed  only  that  the  remainder  of  his  days 


164  PEINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  i 

may  be  exploited  to  his  injury.  The  liberty  which  he 
has  bartered  he  may  regain  by  suffering  and  toil  for  him- 
self or  for  his  children,  but  there  will  be  many  who  fail, 
and  it  is  to  meet  these  failures  that  the  relief  policy  must 
be  framed.  The  widows  and  infant  children  left  behind 
by  those  who  have  died  from  consumption,  or  who  have 
been  killed  in  factories  ;  the  shiftless,  intemperate  men 
and  women  whose  lives  have  been  sapped  by  their  pre- 
mature employment  as  children  ;  ineffective  workers  who 
are  so  because  they  are  illiterate  and  untrained  ;  the  sick 
and  disabled,  whose  relatives  are  in  distant  lands  and  are 
poor,  —  these,  and  other  types  of  dependents  whom  we  have 
already  had  to  consider  in  other  relations,  are  increased 
in  number  and  their  natural  resources  for  relief  are  fewer, 
because  of  immigration. 

Recognition  of  the  family,  even  in  its  collateral  branches, 
and  the  placing  of  burdens -upon  those  who  are  blood 
kindred,  is  one  of  the  first  principles  of  organized  relief. 
When,  however,  all  inquiries  run  quickly  to  the  ocean's 
edge,  the  chances  of  any  effective  recognition  of  family 
responsibility  are  greatly  lessened.  A  vague  statement 
that  one's  parents  or  other  kindred  are  in  Syria,  in  Poland, 
in  Southern  Italy,  or  in  Ireland,  and  that  they  have  all 
that  they  can  do  to  support  themselves,  is  not  easily  dis- 
proved even  if  it  is  not  always  true.  Correspondence 
with  relief  agencies  throughout  the  European  continent  is 
difficult,  and  even  when  it  has  been  established,  is  often  in- 
conclusive because  of  the  different  points  of  view  and  the 
differences  in  language,  customs,  and  standards.  When 
one  has  lost  employment  and  has  but  a  few  acquaintances, 
and  these  perhaps  hastily  formed,  it  is,  of  course,  more 
difficult  to  furnish  those  evidences  of  character  and  fit- 
ness which  would  be  available  in  the  native  land,  but 
which  are  not  readily  imported  among  the  immigrant's 
assets.  It  is  beyond  reasonable  expectation  also,  that 
when  an  immigrant  has,  through  old  age  or  infirmity, 
become  a  public  charge,  there  should  be  quite  the  same 
degree  of  tenderness  and  consideration  for  him  as  he 
might  have  experienced  in  a  similar  adverse  fate  in  the 
home  of  his  ancestors.  I  am  not  apologizing  for  any  in- 
difference to  the  necessities  of  those  who  are  in  distress, 


CHAP,  xiv  ARGUMENT  FOR  UNRESTRICTED  IMMIGRATION   165 

but  pointing  out  that  absence  from  those  upon  whom 
they  have  the  strongest  claim  for  the  offices  prompted 
by  ties  of  kindred  and  of  intimate  association  through 
generations,  is  a  deprivation  of  that  for  which  there  is  no 
ready  substitute.  This,  however,  increases  rather  than 
lessens  the  responsibility  of  those  who  in  public  or  in 
private  charities  administer  relief.  Those  who  have  been 
in  the  country  but  a  short  time  may  wisely  be  returned  to 
their  homes,  but  others,  who  may  remain  after  the  lapse 
of  years  essentially  immigrants,  may  be  in  distress,  and  it 
may  be  possible  to  relieve  them,  or  necessary  to  support 
them,  in  their  dependent  condition.  It  is  not  by  with- 
holding relief  from  individuals  or  from  families  who  may 
wisely  be  aided  that  the  evil  consequences  of  unrestricted 
immigration  are  to  be  met.  The  strengthening  of  existing 
laws,  by  the  addition  of  a  clause  excluding  illiterate  adults, 
and  by  providing  more  efficient  means  for  the  deportation 
of  those  who  have  been  admitted  through  misrepresenta- 
tion or  fraud,  is  advisable,  and  the  uniform  and  equitable 
administration  of  existing  laws  is  essential ;  and  in  addi- 
tion voluntary  agencies  and  private  citizens  may  wisely 
counteract,  at  the  sources  of  emigration,  the  misinforma- 
tion which  has  been  persistently  spread  abroad.  Definite 
measures  are  now  taken,  for  example,  in  Ireland,  to  check 
emigration,  and  these  are  supported  by  representative 
Irishmen  whose  devotion  to  the  interests  of  the  Irish 
people,  both  at  home  and  in  America,  is  unquestionable.1 
The  arguments  in  favor  of  unrestricted  immigration  are 
that  cheap  labor  is  needed  in  the  building  of  railways  and 
in  many  other  undertakings  in  which  the  directive  intelli- 
gence can  be  separated  from  the  physical  labor  required; 
and  that  any  practical  test,  such  as  ability  to  read  or  write, 
possession  of  a  given  sum  of  money,  or  even  a  certificate 
of  good  character  from  the  place  of  departure,  will  operate 
to  exclude  many  who,  under  new  and  favorable  conditions, 
in  a  new  land,  might  prove  to  be  very  useful  and  entirely 
self-supporting  citizens.  While  it  is  true  that  cheap  labor 

1  There  is  a  similar  anti-emigration  movement  in  Sweden,  and  the 
Italian  government  has  a  Bureau  of  Emigration  which  aims  to  discour- 
age the  departure  of  desirable  citizens,  and  permits  the  United  States 
authorities  to  examine  for  the  detection  of  undesirable  persons. 


166  PRINCIPLES  OF  BELIEF  PART  i 

may  be  made  profitable  from  the  employer's  point  of  view, 
it  does  not  follow  that  those  who  are  considering  the  in- 
terests of  the  community  as  a  whole  can  look  with  favor 
upon  it.  The  superintendent  of  a  mill  which  had  within 
a  few  years  replaced  efficient  but  highly  paid  American 
laborers  by  Hungarians  analyzed  the  results  of  the  change 
in  conversation  with  the  author  as  follows :  The  new 
laborers  could  do  less  work  in  a  given  time,  but  they 
were  willing  to  work  at  less  wages,  and  they  were  willing 
to  work  more  hours  in  the  week.  Being  less  efficient  and 
having  less  initiative,  it  had  been  necessary  to  increase  the 
number  of  foremen  and  to  pay  them  somewhat  higher 
wages,  holding  them  responsible  to  a  greater  extent  than 
before  for  the  correction  of  mistakes  and  for  driving  the 
men  under  them  at  their  maximum  capacity.  As  the  men 
worked  for  longer  hours,  the  machinery  was  idle  for  a 
smaller  part  of  the  time,  and  the  total  product  was  increased 
at  less  expense.  This  illustration  is  not  presented  as  typi- 
cal. In  many  instances  the  product  would  doubtless  be 
diminished  rather  than  increased  by  such  a  substitution, 
and  the  cost  increased  so  that  the  net  result  would  be  a 
diminution  of  profits.  Within  reasonable  limits  the  gen- 
eral principle  is  that  high-priced  labor  is  economic  labor, 
the  condition  being  that  it  shall  be  as  intelligent,  as  trust- 
worthy, and  as  efficient  as  it  is  well  paid.  Nevertheless 
the  exploitation  of  cheap  labor,  as  is  illustrated  in  the  in- 
stance above  cited,  is  not  infrequent,  and  whether  in  the 
long  run  it  is  disastrous  or  beneficial  in  a  given  industry, 
there  is  no  doubt  that  for  individuals  in  charge  of  particu- 
lar industries  at  particular  times  it  will  offer  an  opportu- 
nity for  pecuniary  profit  and  that  such  an  opportunity 
will  be  seized.  With  the  consequences  to  the  industry  in 
the  long  run,  the  employer  of  the  moment  may  have  little 
concern.  It  has  been  asserted  that  without  the  immigrant 
— without  these  "  lower,  dependent-producing  grades  "  of 
labor  —  we  could  not  have  an  industrial  organization.  I 
am  unable  to  accept  this  view,  or  to  agree  that  it  is  a  matter 
of  conjecture  whether  our  industrial  organizations  could 
be  maintained  without  them.  There  is  plenty  of  expe- 
rience and  ample  warrantable  analogy  for  believing  that 
if  it  were  necessary  for  American  communities  to  get  on 


CHAP,  xiv    MENACE   OF  LOW-GRADE   IMMIGRATION  167 

without  a  large  element  of  illiterate,  unskilled,  and  low- 
priced  labor,  they  would  succeed  in  doing  so  ;  and  would 
leave  no  work  of  vital  importance  unperformed. 

In  a  nutshell,  if  the  American  workman,  accustomed  to 
a  high  standard  of  living,  is  confronted  with  a  disagreeable 
task,  he  will  invent  a  machine  to  do  it  for  him.  Disagree- 
able labor,  such  as  is  performed  by  Negroes,  by  ill-paid  Ital- 
ian laborers,  by  Chinese  coolies,  by  sweat-shop  workers, 
and  by  others  in  a  similar  grade  of  development,  and  such 
as  was  formerly  performed  by  Irish  immigrants,  and,  to 
some  extent,  by  the  less  efficient  and  progressive  classes 
of  native-born  laborers,  is  performed  by  human  beings  only 
when  they  can  be  had  cheap.  If  there  is  no  one  willing 
to  work  at  the  wages  which  can  be  earned  in  such  occupa- 
tions, and  if  the  industrial  efficiency  of  the  individual 
worker  is  such  as  to  justify  his  employment  at  higher 
wages  elsewhere,  it  does  not  mean  —  it  never  has  meant  — 
that  these  industries  will  be  discontinued.  It  means  that 
they  will  be  performed  by  machinery  or  by  processes  from 
which  the  more  disagreeable  features  have  been  eliminated. 

The  sweat-shop  has  never  been  a  necessity  of  New  York 
City  ;  but  it  is  a  natural  product  of  the  presence  of  large 
numbers  of  people  who  can  be  worked  in  sweat-shops. 
Through  organization  and  legislation  the  particular  trades 
which  were  ten  years  ago,  or  even  five  years  ago,  carried 
on  in  sweat-shops,  have  been  largely  transferred  to  decent 
workshops  and  factories ;  and  it  is  reasonable  to  believe 
that  the  grade  of  efficiency  represented  by  the  sweat-shop 
would  disappear  if  it  were  not  for  the  continued  supply 
through  immigration  of  those  who  have  been  accustomed 
to,  and  will  accept,  the  lower  standard ;  and  who,  from  the 
point  of  view  of  the  individual  manufacturer,  are  more 
profitable  than  decent  workshops  and  improved  machinery. 

The  menace  of  immigration  lies  not  so  much  in  an 
imaginary  channel  from  European  poorhouses  to  American 
poorhouses,  although  there  are  those  who  do  pass  through 
just  such  a  channel ;  but  rather  in  the  well-trodden  high- 
way which  leads  from  the  low-standard  laborers  of  South- 
ern Europe  to  the  lower  margin  of  American  industry, 
which  is  kept  low,  not  because  the  immigrant  wishes  it, 
but  because  his  standard  and  efficiency,  his  physical  and 


168  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  i 

mental  equipment,  are  such  that  he  is  at  the  mercy  of  those 
who  exploit  his  unskilled  labor  to  their  own  profit.  The 
unskilled,  inefficient,  underpaid  immigrant  may  be  a  source 
of  pecuniary  gain  to  his  individual  employer,  but  his  pres- 
ence is  an  injury  to  the  community. 

The  effect  of  utilizing  underpaid  immigrant  labor  under 
conditions  which,  in  order  to  afford  a  living  at  all,  make 
excessive  demands  upon  adult  men,  and  lead  irresistibly 
to  the  employment  of  women  and  children,  is  directly  to 
increase  the  number  who  sooner  or  later  require  relief. 
To  produce  stray  instances  or  even  a  goodly  number  of 
persons  who  have  struggled  through  such  adverse  condi- 
tions without  becoming  dependent  upon  others,  is  not  to 
offer  evidence  to  the  contrary.  The  plain  tendency  is  to 
augment  the  number  of  those  who  break  down  prema- 
turely ;  of  those  who,  in  advanced  years,  have  made  no  pro- 
vision for  their  own  maintenance ;  of  the  children  whose 
support  must  be  supplied  by  others  than  their  own  parents ; 
and  of  those  who,  meeting  with  unexpected  misfortune 
of  any  kind,  have  no  resources  except  the  generosity  of 
strangers. 

It  is,  of  course,  ports  of  entry,  and  preeminently  the 
city  of  New  York,  that  suffers  most  from  the  effects  of 
undesirable  immigration.  Those  who  have  normal  wage- 
earning  capacity,  and  who  do  not  require  the  presence  of 
a  number  of  their  own  nationality  about  them,  may  push 
on  to  the  interior  cities  and  towns,  or  may  find  employ- 
ment at  farm  labor.  Those  who  remain  behind  comprise 
the  most  and  the  least  ambitious.  For  the  man  who  can 
really  succeed,  there  are,  perhaps,  greater  rewards  in  the 
greater  cities  ;  but  those  who  are  least  efficient  and  capable 
remain,  not  because  it  is  to  their  advantage,  but  because 
it  is  easier.  They  do  not  know,  and  they  have  no  means 
of  finding  out,  what  opportunities  would  be  open  to  them 
elsewhere,  and  they  shrink  from  a  venture  which  might 
prove  fatal.  Their  instinct  leads  them  not  to  repeat  the 
original  mistake  of  cutting  loose  from  friends  and  acquaint- 
ances, even  if  these  are  but  of  slight  value  as  compared 
with  the  more  than  lifelong  ties  which  have  been  severed 
by  removal  from  their  original  home. 

The  conditions  which  arise  in  the  seaboard  cities  from 


CHAP,  xiv  DISTRIBUTION   OF  IMMIGRANTS  169 

ever  augmenting  immigration  call  for  some  re  vision  of  the 
principles  of  settlement  and  of  transportation. 

The  principle  relating  to  settlement,  inherited  from 
the  English  Poor  Law,  and  applied  with  many  modifica- 
tions in  the  various  states,  is  that  so  far  as  public  relief  is 
concerned,  dependent  persons  are  to  be  aided  in  the  com- 
munities in  which  they  have  had  a  permanent  residence, 
and  that  if  they  become  dependent  elsewhere,  they  may 
legitimately  be  returned  to  the  place  in  which  they  last 
had  a  permanent  residence.  The  length  of  time  neces- 
sary to  establish  a  residence  or  a  settlement  varies  greatly 
among  the  different  states.  Residence  in  the  county  or 
in  the  town  as  against  other  counties  and  towns  within  the 
state  is  usually  gained  or  lost  in  a  shorter  time  than  is  re- 
quired to  gain  or  lose  residence  in  the  state  itself.  How- 
ever necessary  or  expedient  it  may  be  to  limit  public  relief 
to  those  who  have  a  settlement  established  through  long- 
continued  residence,  it  is  clearly  unwise  to  adopt  the  same 
principle  in  the  administration  of  private  relief,  and  then 
to  apply  it  both  in  public  and  in  private  relief  in  such  a 
way  as  to  lessen  the  distribution  of  the  immigrant  popu- 
lation throughout  the  entire  country. 

The  argument  for  liberal  immigration  laws  is  based 
upon  the  assimilating  powers  of  the  American  people. 
If,  however,  colonies  of  various  nationalities  are  estab- 
lished at  the  very  point  of  entry,  the  opportunities  for 
assimilation  are  greatly  diminished.  The  inducement 
for  those  who  speak  a  different  language  to  acquire 
knowledge  of  English  is  lessened,  and  there  are  fewer 
occupations  open  to  those  who  are  required  in  any  event 
to  learn  some  new  means  of  livelihood.  Either  many  of 
those  who  are  still  admitted  should  be  excluded  by  more 
stringent  laws,  or  there  should  be  developed  systematic 
plans  for  distributing  them  to  the  places  where  there  is 
need  of  the  labor  which  they  can  perform  or,  if  necessary, 
to  establish  colonies  for  the  purpose  of  affording  them  a 
home  and  employment,  and  an  opportunity  to  make  a 
start  under  favorable  conditions.  A  temporary  landing 
in  New  York  City,  and  the  spending  of  a  few  months  in  a 
desperate  attempt  to  gain  a  footing,  is  not  in  any  real 
sense  to  establish  a  residence.  When  one  who  has  had 


170  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PARTI 

this  experience  becomes,  through  loss  of  employment  and 
inability  to  find  anything  to  do,  dependent,  it  may  be 
advisable  to  aid  him,  and  impracticable,  for  exceptional 
reasons,  to  return  him  to  his  native  country,  but  the  gen- 
eral principle  that  dependent  persons  are  to  be  aided  where 
they  have  a  settlement  ought  not  to  debar  the  giving  of 
aid  in  transportation  to  another  place  if  the  conditions 
there  are  known  to  be  more  favorable.  It  is  not  the  gen- 
eral condition  of  the  market  for  labor  that  has  caused 
the  difficulty,  but  the  limited  demand  for  and  the  excessive 
supply  of  the  class  of  unskilled  immigrants,  or  immigrants 
whose  skill  lies  in  a  direction  for  which  there  is  no  de- 
mand. In  so  far  as  relief  is  required,  the  responsibility 
for  it  rests  undoubtedly  upon  the  community  in  which 
the  person  has  become  dependent,  or  the  one  from  which 
he  has  come.  Those  who  remain  dependent  immediately 
upon  transfer  to  some  other  place  should  be  returned  at 
the  expense  of  those  who  have  sent  them  away.  Trans- 
portation to  other  places  should  not  be  resorted  to  merely 
as  a  means  of  lessening  the  demand  for  relief.  Only  in 
so  far  as  there  is  a  reasonable  prospect  of  actual  employ- 
ment in  the  new  community,  or  a  transfer  of  the  burden 
to  those  upon  whom  the  dependent  person  has  an  imme- 
diate personal  claim,  is  the  resort  to  transportation  justi- 
fied, and  even  this  is  justified  only  as  a  remedy  for  an 
unsufferable  condition  created  by  immigration  and  the 
congestion  of  an  abnormal  number  of  the  least  efficient 
immigrants  in  the  cities  of  their  first  arrival.  It  is  not 
then  simply  a  question  of  money,  but  a  question  of  as- 
similating capacity.  Either  the  number  to  be  admitted, 
therefore,  must  be  greatly  reduced,  or  the  burden  of  assimi- 
lation must  be  far  more  widely  distributed,  and  in  truth 
there  is  need  of  both  remedies. 


CHAPTER  XV 

DISCRIMINATION   IN   RELIEF 

THE  object  of  an  investigation  as  a  preliminary  step 
in  the  relief  of  distress  is  not  primarily  to  expose  impos- 
ture, or  to  enable  the  brand  of  "  unworthy  "  or  "  undeserv- 
ing "  to  be  placed  upon  such  as  do  not  satisfy  the  standard 
of  the  investigator.  The  inquiry  is  rather  directed  toward 
the  discovery  of  the  root  of  the  trouble  in  the  particular 
instance,  and  the  discovery  of  the  facts  which  need  to  be 
known  in  order  to  enable  an  intelligent  decision  to  be 
reached  as  to  the  course  which  should  be  pursued.  Inci- 
dentally, it  leads  to  the  rejection  of  fraudulent  claims  and 
the  correction  of  any  wrong  impression  which  misleading 
statements  by  the  applicant,  whether  intentional  or  unin- 
tentional, may  have  caused.  The  elimination  of  fraud, 
and  the  selection  of  those  who  are  legitimate  and  promising 
candidates  for  charitable  relief,  are  fundamental  in  all 
rational  relief  policies.  To  allow  the  fear  of  imposition 
to  paralyze  the  strong  arm  of  charity  is,  however,  as  need- 
less as  it  is  foolish.  Independent  verification  of  the  appli- 
cant's statements  ;  thorough  and  businesslike  inquiry  by 
trained  visitors  into  the  essential  facts  ;  the  preservation 
and  the  use  of  records,  and  a  reasonable  disposition  to 
profit  by  experience,  afford  the  safeguards  necessary  to 
successful  work. 

A  good  investigation  demands  that  each  application 
shall  be  considered  on  its  merits,  without  prejudice.  The 
one  indispensable  qualification  of  the  visitor  who  is  to 
make  the  inquiry  is  an  open  mind,  which  will  take  nothing 
for  granted,  but  which  will  also  give  to  every  new  applica- 
tion the  benefit  of  every  reasonable  doubt,  in  spite  of  any 
disappointments  which  may  previously  have  been  experi- 
enced. The  investigation  should  be  neither  superficial, 

171 


172  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEE  PART  i 

leaving  essential  points  neglected  on  the  one  hand,  nor,  on 
the  other,  mechanical,  carrying  out  a  rigid  programme  re- 
gardless of  the  purpose  for  which  the  particular  inquiry 
is  made.  The  inquiry  should  be  directed  not  only  toward 
the  immediate  decision  which  is  to  be  reached,  but  also 
toward  the  discovery  of  real  but  unrecognized  needs. 
It  will  naturally  vaiy  with  the  nature  of  the  application, 
and  with  the  information  previously  acquired,  and  will  be 
shaped  in  each  instance  to  some  extent  by  the  particular 
features  which' 'develop  as  the  inquiry  proceeds. 

The  points  upon  which  societies  that  give  relief  to  the 
poor  in  their  homes  have  found  that  it  is  desirable,  as  a 
rule,  to  have  information,  are  the  following  :  — 

Surname. 

Residence. 

Husband's  first  name. 

Wife's  first  name. 

Age,  occupation,  and  income  of  each. 

Children's  names. 

Age,  work  or  school,  and  income  of  each. 

Married  children  in  family. 

Others  living  with  family,  and  relationship. 

Color  or  nationality. 

Church  relationship. 

How  long  in  United  States  ? 

How  long  in  city  or  town  ? 

Number  of  rooms. 

Rent. 

Apparent  cause  of  need  in  first  instance. 

Married  children  not  living  in  family. 

Previous  residences. 

Relatives. 

References. 

The  applicant's  own  statement  should  ordinarily  cover 
at  least  the  following  points  :  — 

I.   Chief  breadwinners  in  the  family. 
Health. 
Income. 

Former  employers. 
II.   Other  breadwinners  as  above. 
HI.   Expenditures. 

Debts,  and  to  whom. 
Articles  in  pawn. 
Insurance,  name  of  company. 


CH.  xv   INVESTIGATION  THE  BASIS  OF  EFFECTIVE  RELIEF    173 

IV.   Sickness  in  family. 

Physican,  treatment,  etc. 
V.   Relatives  and  friends  able  to  help,  and  other  possible  sources 

of  relief. 
VI.   Aid  asked. 
VII.   Aid  received. 
VIII.   Supplies  on  hand. 
IX.   Miscellaneous.     Schools. 

Usually  long  before  a  complete  investigation  covering 
all  of  the  field  outlined  in  the  above  enumeration  has  been 
made,  conclusive  evidence  will  have  been  ascertained  as  to 
whether  the  application  is  a  bona  fide  one,  and  whether 
there  is  a  reasonable  prospect  of  that  degree  of  coopera- 
tion on  the  part  of  the  family  which  will  justify  serious 
efforts  in  their  behalf.  If  the  application  has  not  been 
made  in  good  faith  and  the  statement  has  been  found  to 
be  lacking  in  accuracy  and  frankness,  it  may  still  be  advis- 
able to  act  in  the  light  of  the  knowledge  that  has  been 
obtained,  and  to  attempt  to  exercise  disciplinary  influences 
either  in  lieu  of,  or  as  a  supplement  to,  material  relief.  If, 
however,  the  attitude  of  the  family  is  essentially  uncoop- 
erative, and  if  it  is  obvious  that  with  the  resources  at  hand 
no  good  result  can  be  accomplished,  it  may  be  wiser  to 
withdraw  entirely  and  to  concentrate  attention  upon  those 
who  are  more  receptive  and  more  responsive. 

The  investigation  is  not  merely  for  the  purpose  of  reach- 
ing a  decision  as  to  whether  relief  shall  be  given  or  with- 
held. It  is  for  the  further  purpose  of  enabling  the  amount 
and  kind  of  relief  to  be  determined,  and  also  to  reveal 
the  personal  and  natural  resources  from  which  relief  may 
rightly  be  obtained.  The  thorough  searching  out  of  those 
facts  in  the  previous  economic  history  of  the  family  that 
will  lay  bare  the  real  cause  of  the  distress  is  to  be  insisted 
upon,  in  order  that  genuinely  remedial  and  constructive 
work  may  be  undertaken  from  the  beginning.  What  is 
needed  is  that  the  cause,  if  it  is  in  the  nature  of  the 
case  practicable,  shall  be  removed,  and  the  condition  of 
dependence  brought  to  an  end.  The  investigation  can- 
not be  completed  at  once,  but  its  foundation  may  be  laid 
thoroughly  at  the  beginning,  and  information  will  then  be 
obtained  upon  many  points  which  it  would  be  more  diffi- 
cult to  secure  at  a  later  stage.  Having  thus  laid  the 


174  PEINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PARTI 

foundation  by  a  formal  and  definite  attempt  to  secure  all 
the  information  obtainable  at  the  outset,  full  and  well- 
rounded  knowledge  will  come  gradually. 

It  is  not  alone  relief  societies  and  other  agencies  which 
have  to  do  with  the  poor  in  their  homes  that  have  need  for 
the  investigator.  Institutions  for  dependent  children  and 
adults,  hospitals,  employment  agencies,  day  nurseries,  and 
other  philanthropic  enterprises  have  quite  as  much  need  to 
base  their  treatment  and  their  selection  of  beneficiaries 
upon  exact  knowledge.  There  will  naturally  be  differ- 
ences in  the  inquiries  to  be  made,  for  investigation  should 
always  be  shaped  with  reference  to  the  need  to  be  met,  but 
the  broader  principles  underlying,  for  example,  an  investi- 
gation for  a  charity  organization  society  will  require  little 
modification  when  applied  elsewhere. 

Investigation  is  sometimes  looked  upon  as  an  injustice 
to  the  poor,  and  sometimes  as  a  necessary  evil.  In  its 
proper  place,  and  with  a  justifiable  occasion,  it  is  neither. 
Investigation  is  to  be  judged  relatively  to  the  plans  which 
lie  beyond.  If  the  relief  which  is  undertaken  is  inappro- 
priate in  kind  and  inadequate  in  amount,  the  fact  that  it 
is  given  only  "  after  a  thorough  investigation  of  each 
case  "  serves  only  to  condemn  the  investigation  as  heartily 
as  the  "  relief  "  to  which  it  leads.  Only  when  it  is  the 
purpose,  and  when  it  is  within  the  capacity,  of  the  one 
who  investigates  to  give  real  help,  or  to  enable  real  help 
to  be  given,  is  it  justified,  and  then  it  is  not  to  be  re- 
garded either  as  injustice  or  as  a  necessary  evil,  but  as  an 
essential  part  of  a  service  which  is  wholly  beneficial. 

In  addition  to  the  danger  of  imposition  at  the  time  of 
application,  there  are  certain  dangers  supposed  to  be 
inherent  in  the  carrying  out  of  a  liberal  relief  policy. 
The  most  important  of  these  is  the  fear  of  the  demoraliz- 
ing effect  upon  growing  children.  It  is  thought  that  any 
child  of  average  intelligence  will  be  likely  to  discover 
that  in  addition  to  what  is  earned  by  working  members 
of  the  family  there  is  coming  in,  weekly  or  monthly,  a 
certain  sum  for  which  no  one  renders  an  equivalent.  The 
possibility  of  such  an  income,  it  is  feared,  again,  may 
become  firmly  fixed  in  the  mind  of  the  growing  child, 
and  the  expectation  of  receiving  some  similar  unearned 


CHAP,  xv  SAFEGUARDS   IN   LIBERAL   RELIEF  176 

income  may  exert  an  undue  influence  over  his  own  later 
conduct. 

Close  observation  of  a  number  of  families  in  receipt  of 
monthly  pensions  from  private  charity,  over  a  period 
of  several  years,  has  convinced  the  writer  that  this  fear 
is  not  well  grounded.  On  the  contrary,  children  who 
learn  about  the  pension  may  often  learn  at  the  same  time 
why  it  is  granted,  and  get  a  first  useful  lesson  in  the 
value  of  the  qualities  which  have  induced  favorable  action 
on  the  part  of  donors.  They  are  apt  to  come  to  look  upon 
the  pension  as  an  advance  or  a  loan  which  it  will  be  their 
own  duty  to  repay,  either  directly  to  the  source  from 
which  it  has  come  or  to  others  who  are  similarly  in  need. 
In  a  family  that  has  been  longer  in  receipt  of  such  a  pen- 
sion than  any  other  known  to  the  writer,  the  oldest  boy, 
who  has  now  for  two  or  three  years  been  working  in  a 
shop  with  steadily  increasing  wages,  recently  said  to  his 
mother,  with  earnest  feeling :  "  As  soon  as  I  have  another 
raise,  we  can  get  along  without  that  money  from  the 
Society;  and  as  soon  as  we  can  spare  it,  I  am  going  to 
begin  paying  them  a  dollar  a  month  from  my  wages." 
This  attitude,  to  which  the  boy  came  spontaneously,  and 
not  as  a  result  of  direct  suggestion,^  is  hardly  typical.  It 
is,  however,  the  result  of  a  long-continued,  close  oversight 
by  an  efficient  visitor  and  nurse,  —  the  mother  being  an  in- 
valid, —  and  need  not  be  expected  in  any  case  in  which  an 
allowance,  however  liberal,  is  made  in  a  perfunctory  way, 
without  an  accompaniment  of  personal  oversight. 

A  second  danger  which  has  been  especially  encountered 
in  connection  with  the  pension  system  is  the  temptation  to 
deceive.  If  the  family's  circumstances  are  changed,  if 
relatives  who  have  previously  been  in  straitened  circum- 
stances become  able  to  help,  or  if  for  any  other  reason  the 
pension  becomes  unnecessary,  there  is,  of  course,  a  tempta- 
tion to  conceal  these  facts  for  the  sake  of  securing  the  con- 
tinuance of  the  pension.  Perhaps  the  extreme  case  is  that 
of  a  woman  who  had  been  receiving  a  monthly  allowance  of 
five  dollars,  and  who  continued  to  receive  it  for  over  a  year 
after  her  re-marriage,  the  appearance  of  an  infant  two 
months  old  first  suggesting  to  the  visitor  that  possibly 
things  were  not  as  they  had  been.  In  this  instance  the 


176  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  i 

recipient  of  the  pension  went  so  far  as  to  protest  volubly 
that  the  child  had  been  left  with  her  by  a  relative  to 
board,  and  after  this  had  been  disproved  and  the  marriage 
definitely  established,  she  was  still  ready  to  present  ample 
testimony  that  her  financial  situation  had  not  been  im- 
proved by  this  new  alliance,  but  that  quite  the  contrary 
effect  had  been  experienced.  In  another  instance,  an  old 
couple  in  receipt  of  a  pension  had  successfully  concealed 
the  existence  of  the  wife's  married  sister,  whose  husband 
was  earning  a  fair  income,  although  not  sufficient  to  enable 
them  to  share  largely  with  the  dependent  couple. 

These  instances  show  only  the  necessity  for  ordinary 
caution  —  or  perhaps  one  should  say  extraordinary  caution. 
They  are  likely  to  occur  in  the  experience  of  charitable 
societies  that  conduct  their  work  in  a  superficial  and 
perfunctory  manner.  To  avoid  the  danger  of  such  de- 
ception is  by  no  means  impossible  or  even  especially 
difficult.  Against  the  two  examples  cited  can  be  placed 
scores  of  instances  in  which  the  idea  of  deception  has 
never  entered  the  mind  of  the  pensioner,  in  which  every 
material  change  of  conditions  is  promptly  confided  to  the 
visitor  or  readily  discovered  in  the  course  of  that  con- 
tinuous personal  oversight  which  is  essential  to  the  suc- 
cess of  the  plan. 

Close  vigilance  to  insure  the  elimination  of  fraud,  the 
detection  of  imposture,  and  the  removal  of  the  temptation 
to  deceit  are  often  essential  in  subsequent,  as  always  in 
the  initial,  steps,  but  here  again  a  caution  is  necessary  — 
that  suspicion,  the  withholding  of  confidence,  and  the  in- 
trusion of  needless  precautions  against  deception  are  apt 
to  give  rise  to  the  very  qualities  against  which  such  pre- 
cautions are  taken.  It  is  well  to  expect  fair  dealing, 
truthfulness,  and  candor  and  thus  to  make  easier  the 
revelation  of  the  better  side  of  those  with  whom  the  visitor 
comes  in  contact. 


CHAPTER  XVI 

RESTATEMENT   AND   CONCLUSION 

THE  charitable  impulse  has  four  distinct  stages  of  de- 
velopment :  the  desire  to  alleviate  obvious  and  obtrusive 
distress ;  the  desire  to  relieve  distress  adequately  ;  the 
desire  to  restore  the  dependent  if  possible  to  a  position  of 
self-support ;  and  finally,  the  desire  to  create  social  condi- 
tions in  which  pauperism  is  entirely  absent. 

The  impulse  itself,  in  its  most  primitive,  and  perhaps 
most  permanent,  form,  is  deeply  ingrained  in  our  human 
nature,  and  is  encountered  in  all  the  quarters  of  the  earth. 
The  sight  of  suffering  calls  forth,  as  if  by  direct  reflex 
action  of  brain  and  heart,  the  impulse  to  act,  to  give,  to 
share  either  of  our  goods  or  of  our  strength  to  the  end  that 
the  evident  signs  of  suffering  may  be  obliterated.  It  is 
strange  how  little  it  takes,  however,  even  in  civilized  man, 
to  satisfy  this  original  impulse,  how  slight  the  obstacle 
that  will  suffice  to  prevent  even  its  crudest  expression. 

The  daintily  gloved,  well-groomed  gentleman  who,  in 
summer,  will  toss  a  quarter  to  the  mutilated  cripple  to  be 
rid  of  his  supplications,  will,  on  a  cold  winter  day,  when 
to  reach  the  quarter  in  an  inside  pocket  means  a  little 
more  trouble  and  slight  exposure,  pass  on  with  a  quicker 
step,  stifling  his  impulse  to  give  by  the  reflection  that 
organized  charity  condemns  giving  to  street  beggars,  any- 
way. This  is  the  kind  of  charity  which  has  an  open  hand 
but  a  closed  eye,  which  gives  what  is  demanded  to  any  one 
who  asks,  when  it  involves  no  sacrifice,  but  does  not  earn 
the  blessing  promised  to  him  that  considereth  the  poor. 

An  effective  desire  to  relieve  distress,  upon  which  intel- 
ligent relief  measures  may  be  based,  is  so  closely  allied  to 
this  original  charitable  impulse  that  they  may  not  always 
be  distinguished.  The  second  is  a  direct  development 
N  177 


178  PEINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PARTI 

from  the  first,  showing  that  the  primitive  instinct  is  not 
to  be  condemned,  but  rather  encouraged  and  trained.  It 
follows  that  carefully  planned  relief  measures  may  safely 
be  given  a  more  prominent  place  in  our  national  and 
municipal  policies.  One  of  the  chief  defects  of  the  char- 
itable system  of  many  American  communities,  even  of 
those  in  which  relief  is  most  ample  and  most  elaborately 
organized,  is  that  for  certain  kinds  of  need  the  relief  is 
inadequate  in  amount  and  not  at  all  organized.  The  desire 
to  relieve  distress  —  really  and  sufficiently  to  relieve  —  is 
of  gradual  growth.  We  naturally  develop  a  relief  sys- 
tem, public  and  private,  just  as  we  do  an  educational 
or  an  industrial  system.  We  become  willing  to  make 
large  sacrifices  to  carry  it  into  effect.  Relief  is  the  means 
by  which,  in  a  progressive  community,  the  blows  of  un- 
merited misfortune ;  the  crushing  burdens  of  protracted 
illness  and  serious  accident ;  even,  at  times,  and  in  some 
communities,  the  loss  of  employment  because  of  industrial 
changes  through  which  the  community  gains  but  the  indi- 
vidual suffers  ;  and,  more  obviously  still  than  any  of  these, 
the  care  of  orphans  and  neglected  children,  may  be  as- 
sumed —  when  it  is  right  and  necessary  to  assume  them  — 
by  the  community,  either  through  private  agencies  es- 
tablished for  that  purpose,  or  through  public  agencies 
supported  by  taxation.  The  relief  system  is  the  means 
of  transferring  insupportable  burdens  to  a  group  large 
enough  to  bear  them. 

Cripples,  children  who  are  defective  in  sight,  speech, 
or  hearing,  children  who  are  defective  in  intellect,  should 
be  discovered  and  placed  under  the  special  care  of  those 
who  can,  to  some  extent,  build  up  their  defective  organs, 
or  at  least  care  humanely  for  them  in  their  affliction.  A 
keen  lookout  should  be  kept  in  every  schoolroom  and  in 
every  home  for  those  who  need  special  attention  or  care, 
and  who  cannot  themselves,  or  whose  family  cannot,  pro- 
vide it ;  and  no  community  can  be  said  really  to  care  for 
the  relief  of  distress  until  it  is  awake  to  all  such  needs  — 
curing  the  curable  while  they  are  curable,  and  relieving 
the  incurable  in  a  humane  and  charitable  way.  This  does 
not  by  any  means  uniformly  imply  care  in  an  institution. 
Each  class  of  dependents  —  each  individual  who  is  in 


CHAP,  xvi    DEVELOPMENT  OF  THE  CHARITABLE  IMPULSE     179 

need  —  must  be  considered  separately,  and  the  best  that 
professional  skill  and  experienced  judgment  can  dictate 
should  be  forthcoming.  This  is,  in  the  long  run,  an  eco- 
nomical policy,  but  it  is  to  be  urged,  not  because  it  is 
economical,  but  because  it  is  charitable. 

The  full  development  of  the  second  stage  of  the  impulse 
of  charity  brings  us  as  before  into  the  next.  We  do  not 
find  ourselves  seriously  relieving  distress,  without  at  the 
same  time  directing  our  efforts  to  the  prevention  of  its 
recurrence.  And  yet,  as  we  grow  more  charitable,  as  we 
develop  a  more  fraternal  and  democratic  type  of  philan- 
thropy, we  become  increasingly  concerned  about  the  per- 
manent welfare  of  the  individuals  and  families  who  have 
appealed  to  our  sympathies.  Especially  is  it  true  that 
when  able-bodied  men  and  women  are  found  to  be  asking 
others  for  help  we  become  profoundly  dissatisfied  with 
mere  almsgiving.  We  are  convinced  that  there  is,  even 
in  the  present  —  possibly  not  ideal  —  organization  of  soci- 
ety, no  reason,  at  least  no  irremovable  reason,  why  able- 
bodied  persons  should  not  support  themselves  and  their 
children.  When  they  are  unable  to  do  so,  it  must  be  for 
lack  of  training,  or  for  some  lack  of  mental  discipline, 
which  possibly  physical  want,  actual  deprivation  for  a 
time  of  the  necessities  of  life,  will  alone  supply. 

The  problem  is,  then,  to  cooperate  with  the  better  ele- 
ments in  such  dependent  persons  —  and  oftentimes  there 
are  in  them  surprisingly  promising  elements  —  in  such  a 
way  as  to  make  them  self-supporting.  It  may  be  neces- 
sary, in  order  to  avoid  misapprehension,  to  guard  against 
creating  the  impression  that  those  who  are  unsuccessful 
in  the  economic  struggle  are  necessarily  the  most  unat- 
tractive and  unlovely  of  neighbors.  It  is  not  necessa- 
rily so.  It  has  been  pointed  out  that  Esau  had  really 
a  much  more  attractive  personality  than  Jacob  —  that 
he  was  unsuspecting,  ingenuous,  and  generous,  whereas 
Jacob,  the  chosen  seed  of  Israel,  left  much  in  these 
directions  to  be  desired;  but  it  remains  true  that  Jacob 
had  the  particular  qualities  needed  in  him  who  was  to 
be  the  leader  of  the  people.  It  is  so  in  the  contrast 
between  the  dependent  and  the  self-supporting.  The  for- 
mer may  have  excellent  qualities,  but  without  thrift, 


180  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PARTI 

without  a  certain  minimum  capacity  for  earning  and 
saving,  they  go  to  the  wall,  and  they  bring  suffering 
and  deprivation  upon  themselves  and  their  children.  If 
we  are  interested  in  their  welfare,  therefore,  we  shall 
strive  to  implant  and  to  encourage  the  growth  of  these 
economic  virtues.  Possibly  we  may  not  personally  value 
them  so  highly  as  other  virtues.  Patriotism,  religion, 
love  of  home,  generosity,  or  a  thousand  other  qualities 
may  strike  us  as  more  admirable,  but  in  spite  of  this,  if 
those  whom  we  might  help  are  deficient  in  the  very  quali- 
ties which  bring  them  self-respect  and  an  independent 
standing  among  their  fellows,  we  will  strive  to  supply 
those  particular  elementary  deficiencies.  When  relief  is 
required,  we  will  naturally  supply  work  if  we  can,  rather 
than  money  or  food.  When  those  who  ask  aid  have  no 
trade  or  vocation,  we  will  see  whether  training  in  some 
suitable  direction  cannot  be  given.  When  they  are  crim- 
inally negligent  in  failing  to  provide  for  their  children, 
we  will  call  upon  the  criminal  law,  even  if  they  stoutly 
protest  their  affection ;  for  affection  that  flowers  only  in 
neglect  is  not  a  trait  of  extraordinary  value.  In  other 
words,  to  sum  up  this  third  stage  in  the  development  of 
the  charitable  impulse,  it  is  a  duty  to  look  into  the  future 
always,  to  consider  the  ultimate  as  well  as  the  immediate 
effect  of  our  benevolence  —  to  bear  in  mind  that  we  shall 
have  constantly  in  our  midst  just  as  many  beggars  as  we 
are  willing  to  pay  for ;  just  as  many  unnecessary  public 
dependents  —  human  nature  and  social  conditions  being 
what  they  are  —  as  we  are  willing  to  support  in  a  life  of 
vagrancy  and  dependence.  It  is  an  indication  of  an 
awakened  public  conscience,  of  a  developed  spirit  of 
charity,  when  those  who  desire  to  help  others  give  effect 
to  that  desire  in  cuch  a  way  as  to  eliminate  every  curable 
case  of  dependency,  providing  liberally  for  those  who 
need  permanent  relief  and  providing  efficiently,  and,  if 
possible,  once  for  all,  for  those  who  can  be  driven,  or 
encouraged,  or  lifted  out  of  the  slough  of  dependency. 

I  have  indicated  that  in  the  slow  genesis  of  the  spirit  of 
fraternity,  of  democratic  philanthropy,  of  that  charity 
which  does  not  conflict  with  justice  and  which  alone  is 
true  charity,  there  is  still  a  higher  and  riper  conception  of 


CHAP,  xvi  THE   SOCIAL   IDEAL  181 

its  significance.  There  arises  at  last,  in  many  places  and 
for  different  reasons,  a  determination  to  seek  out  those 
social  forces  that  have  a  downward  pull  and  to  destroy 
them  by  concerted  action.  There  arises  a  realization  that 
it  is  possible  to  call  into  increased  activity  social  forces 
that  are  redemptive,  regenerative,  uplifting  in  character, 
and  that  these  will  make  unnecessary  many  charitable  tasks, 
and  make  easier  all  that  remain.  Improved  sanitation 
brings  improved  health  and  physical  vigor.  Improved 
housing  and  public  parks  lessen  the  need  for  hospitals  and 
asylums.  Universal  elementary  education,  manual  training, 
kindergartens,  normal  schools,  professional  schools,  and  the 
university  become  actual  preventive  agencies.  The  better 
care  of  dependent  children  helps  not  only  the  particular 
children  but  the  community  of  which  they  become  members. 
Intelligent,  persistent,  social  effort  to  improve  the  physical 
and  the  social  environment  in  which  all  our  lives  are  cast 
is  thus  linked  with  the  most  elementary  and  universal  of 
all  the  impulses  of  the  human  heart,  that  to  help  those 
who  need  help ;  and  through  all  its  stages  —  individual 
effort  to  relieve  distress  merely  because  it  is  painful ; 
effort  to  seek  out  and  relieve  distress  that  does  not  obtrude 
itself  but  is  known  to  exist ;  effort  to  help  people  to  help 
themselves,  and  to  strike  at  the  causes  of  distress  in  the 
individual;  and  effort  to  strike  at  the  social  causes  of 
human  suffering  —  through  all  its  stages  there  runs  the 
continuous  development  of  this  ideal  —  which  is  a  social 
ideal  —  the  ideal  commonwealth  in  which  there  shall  be  no 
pauperism  and  no  destitution. 


PART    II 

TYPICAL  RELIEF  PROBLEMS 


TYPICAL   RELIEF   PROBLEMS 

DIGEST   OF   SEVENTY-FIVE   ILLUSTRATIVE   CASES 

IN  conclusion,  for  a  more  complete  understanding  of  the 
principles  of  relief,  it  will  be  of  advantage  to  study  the 
details  of  a  number  of  typical  cases.  To  some  of  these 
concrete  instances  of  distress  let  us  then  turn,  extracting 
from  actual  family  records  as  much  as  is  needed  to  set 
forth  the  nature  of  the  problem  in  each  case,  and  using 
disguises  of  name  and  incidents  only  as  far  as  is  necessary 
to  keep  confidences  inviolate.1 

Friedrich,  Margaret,  widow.  Eight  or  ten  years  ago 
there  died  in  New  York  City  from  consumption  an  intel- 
ligent and  industrious  German,  who  had  become  an 
American  citizen,  leaving  a  widow  and  three  attractive 
children.  He  had  supported  his  family  comfortably,  but 
his  own  illness  had  exhausted  his  savings  before  his  death, 
and  the  insurance  policy,  as  often  happens  where  indemnity 
for  the  loss  of  a  wage- earner  is  of  the  greatest  possible 
consequence  to  the  family,  did  not  furnish  any  such  in- 
demnity, but  only  enough  to  satisfy  the  undertaker.  Of 
the  three  children,  one  boy  was  two  years  of  age,  the 
daughter  was  six,  and  the  first-born  eight.  We  need  not 
speak  of  those  that  had  died. 

If  this  were  the  whole  story,  it  would  be  a  simple  but 
typical  case  of  a  widow  with  small  children,  requiring 
little,  much,  or  no  help,  according  to  her  own  stock  of 

1  These  records  are  mainly  from  the  Registration  Bureau  of  the  New 
York  Charity  Organization  Society,  and  they  are  used  in  this  manner, 
with  names  changed,  by  special  permission  of  the  Society.  The  Bureau 
contains  also  the  case  records  of  the  New  York  Association  for  Improving 
the  Condition  of  the  Poor,  and  in  some  instances  the  families  were  known 
to  both  societies. 

185 


186  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  n 

physical  strength  and  skill  in  washing,  cleaning,  sewing, 
or  some  less  common  employment  by  which  widows  do 
from  time  to  time  earn  their  livelihood.  Unfortunately, 
Mrs.  Friedrich  had  no  such  physical  strength  as  would  be 
essential  to  so  difficult,  even  if  not  uncommon,  an  under- 
taking. Within  two  years  it  was  known  that  she  had  a 
cancerous  growth  which  would  require  the  knife,  and  that, 
even  if  the  outcome  were  favorable,  she  would  probably 
remain  unfit  for  hard  work. 

Mrs.  Friedrich  had  relatives  in  the  old  country  from 
whom  she  had  been  cut  off  by  her  marriage.  She  had 
humbled  herself  to  ask  help  in  her  need  after  her  husband's 
death,  but  they  would  make  no  answer.  She  must  depend 
on  such  resources  as  came  to  her  aid  in  the  new  world 
where  she  had  married  and  where  she  has  lived  for  twenty 
years.  Her  home  is  on  the  top  floor  of  a  tenement  in  an 
up-town  cross  street,  in  a  flat  which  rents  for  nine  dollars 
a  month,  and  which,  by  the  tenant's  good  luck,  has  an 
unobstructed  outlook  across  the  North  River  to  the  hills 
and  woods  on  the  New  Jersey  shore. 

The  relief  problem  in  this  case  first  presented  itself 
within  a  few  months  after  Martin  Friedrich's  death.  What 
were  its  elements  ?  First,  that  four  persons  —  a  mother 
with  three  fatherless  children  —  must  be  in  some  way  pro- 
vided for.  No  one  of  them  could  earn  anything.  Sec- 
ondly, that  the  mother  was  a  model  mother,  as  she  had 
been  a  model  wife.  If  a  pathetic  note  of  complaint  was 
sometimes  heard  from  her,  it  was  not  more  frequent  or 
more  depressing  than  is  often  heard  by  the  children  of  the 
rich  when  they  listen  to  the  conversation  of  their  parents. 
She  was  affectionate,  ambitious  for  her  children,  scrupu- 
lous in  all  the  art  and  practice  of  a  trained  German  house- 
wife, and  physically  just  able  to  keep  her  own  rooms  in 
order,  and  to  look  after  the  children,  except  when,  for 
periods  of  a  few  weeks,  at  intervals  of  as  many  years,  she 
went  to  a  hospital  for  the  surgical  treatment  of  her  disease. 

The  third  aspect  of  the  problem  is  that  the  usual  dili- 
gent inquiry  as  to  relatives,  husband's  former  employers, 
etc.,  brought  no  result  except  that  which  has  been  stated. 
Favorable  testimony  as  to  the  character  of  Friedrich  and 
his  family  was  abundant,  but  there  were  no  springs  of 


PART  ii  TYPICAL  RELIEF  PROBLEMS  187 

financial  revenue  in  these  directions  to  be  opened  —  or  at 
least  none  were  found. 

It  is  a  simple  problem  on  the  whole,  after  all.  The 
mother's  ailment  is  not  one  that  makes  her  in  any  way  an 
unfit  companion  for  her  children.  Her  character  is  such 
as  to  make  her  a  peculiarly  fit  guardian  for  them.  The 
relief  problem  now  resolves  itself  into  three  subordinate 
problems :  a  sufficient  income  to  pay  rent  and  all  other 
expenses  ;  medical  or  surgical  care  when  needed,  and 
constant  oversight  by  a  physician  or  nurse  to  relieve  un- 
necessary pain  and  to  advise  as  to  when  definite  treatment 
is  required;  such  personal,  friendly  encouragement  as 
semi-invalids  especially  need,  whether  otherwise  well- 
to-do,  or  poor,  and  such  personal  interest  in  the  children 
as  will  give  them  a  chance  in  life  when  their  time  comes. 
The  Widows'  Society,  the  German  Society,  a  general  relief 
society,  the  church  of  which  Mrs.  Friedrich  is  a  member, 
or  any  private  citizen  or  group  of  individuals  whose  inter- 
est in  this  particular  need  can  be  secured,  might  appropri- 
ately provide  the  income  required  ;  or  it  might  come  from 
a  combination  of  two  or  more  of  these  sources.  For  it 
will  not  do  to  shrink  from  the  fact  that  it  is  no  mere  dole 
for  a  fortnight,  or  even  for  a  single  winter,  that  is  required. 
About  thirty  dollars  a  month,  through  the  summer  as  well 
as  through  the  winter,  will  be  needed,  and  there  must  be 
a  guarantee  that  there  will  be  some  element  of  perma- 
nence in  the  arrangement. 

What  would  be  the  alternatives  ?  There  are,  of  course, 
several.  The  children  might  be  adopted  into  foster-homes. 
The  sacrifice  of  maternal  affection  involved  in  this  plan, 
under  the  circumstances  here  described,  condemns  it  out 
of  hand.  The  children  might  be  committed  to  a  half- 
orphan  asylum,  where  their  mother  could  see  them  at 
stated  times,  and  the  mother  herself  cared  for  in  a  home 
for  incurables  —  with  the  tacit  understanding  that  on  the 
mother's  death  the  children  should  be  placed  in  foster- 
homes.  The  objections  to  this  plan  are  that  while,  for  the 
community  as  a  whole,  it  is  fully  as  expensive  as  to  keep 
the  children  together,  the  latter  would  be  deprived  of 
their  natural  and  most  suitable  guardian,  while  neither 
mother  nor  children  would  be  physically  better  cared  for 


188  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  n 

than  is  possible  at  their  own  modest  home.  It  is  in  weigh- 
ing such  considerations  as  these,  that  every  case  must  stand 
strictly  upon  its  own  merits,  and  it  is  possibly  true  that  in 
the  larger  number  of  instances  in  which  it  is  necessary  to 
decide,  the  balance  of  physical  comfort  would  be  on  the 
side  of  institutions.  So  far  as  Mrs.  Friedrich  and  the 
children  were  concerned,  however,  every  advantage,  senti- 
mental and  real,  lay  on  the  side  of  preserving  the  excep- 
tionally favorable  home  life. 

It  would  be  possible  to  send  the  family  back  to  the 
mother's  childhood  home  in  Germany.  The  argument  in 
favor  of  this  course  would  turn  upon  the  probabilit}^  of  a 
reconciliation  with  her  relatives.  Her  own  parents  were 
not  living.  Her  nearest  kin  had  refused  to  answer  her 
letters,  or  to  answer  letters  from  others  in  her  behalf. 
She  had  married  and  borne  her  children  in  America.  Her 
ineradicable  tenderness  for  her  fatherland,  of  which  there 
was  evidence  enough,  did  not  take  the  form  of  a  desire  to 
return.  To  have  insisted  upon  it,  against  her  own  incli- 
nations, and  in  face  of  the  absence  of  any  assurance  of  aid 
from  her  own  people  on  her  arrival,  would  have  led  either 
to  an  obstinate  attempt  by  Mrs.  Friedrich  to  earn  her  own 
support,  hastening  her  death,  or  to  an  application  on  her 
own  part  to  the  city  authorities  to  receive  her  children  — 
great  as  would  have  been  her  regret  to  take  this  step. 

The  final  alternative  would  have  been  to  do  nothing  — 
leaving  the  mother  to  accept  such  kindly  occasional  help 
as  might  come  from  a  neighbor ;  to  send  her  boy  out  to 
sell  papers  long  before  it  should  be  lawful  for  him  to  do  so  ; 
to  move  from  month  to  month  instead  of  paying  rent,  lay 
the  ingenious  arrangement  which  yields  such  extraordi- 
nary returns  on  the  poorest  tenement-houses,  while  cost- 
ing the  tenants  only  what  they  have  to  pay  —  that  is, 
sometimes,  nothing;  and,  in  general,  to  fall  through  all 
those  makeshifts  of  penury  by  which  the  recovery  of  the 
sick  is  made  impossible,  and  the  rearing  of  children  im- 
possible also.  Of  course,  this  is  really  no  alternative  at 
all,  or  one  to  be  adopted  only  in  ignorance. 

We  come  back,  therefore,  to  the  plan  of  a  regular 
monthly  pension,  definitely  assured,  if  possible,  for  at 
least  a  year  at  a  time,  and  practically  assured  if  there 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF  PROBLEMS  189 

is  some  one  to  take  this  responsibility,  for  so  long  a  time 
as  outside  aid  is  required  —  probably  until  at  least  two  of 
the  children  have  become  wage-earners,  or  until,  on  the 
mother's  death,  some  other  disposition  is  made  of  such 
children  as  have  not  become  self-supporting.  I  speak  of 
the  feasibility  of  this  plan  in  the  particular  instance  with 
that  confidence  which  is  based  on  the  sure  foundation  of 
trial  and  success. 

A  pension  was  provided,  and  with  a  single  interruption 
of  a  few  months,  during  which  period  Mrs.  Friedrich  lived 
on  a  small  legacy  from  one  of  the  relatives  who  had  refused 
communication  with  her  during  the  testator's  lifetime,  it 
has  been  continued  through  several  years.  It  began  at  $30 
a  month,  but  recently  has  been  much  reduced,  for  twelve 
dollars  a  week  are  now  earned  by  the  two  older  children, 
both  of  whom  are  in  positions  suited  to  their  abilities  and 
strength,  and  both  of  whom  remained  in  school  until  they 
were  fourteen.  There  have  been  the  usual  vicissitudes  of 
health  and  spirits  in  this  family,  but  there  have  always 
been  friends  to  whom  they  could  turn.  A  district  nurse 
has  been  in  weekly  attendance  on  account  of  Mrs.  Fried- 
rich's  illness,  and  she  has  had  the  benefit  of  the  most 
expert  surgical  skill.  Her  pension  has  been  supplemented 
by  Thanksgiving  and  Christmas  gifts,  she  has  enjoyed 
the  poor  relative's  perquisites  in  discarded  clothing  from 
more  than  one  family,  but  at  the  same  time  she  has  not 
been  pauperized,  nor  has  any  one  of  her  three  bright  and 
every  way  promising  children.  They  have  weathered  the 
dangers  of  the  street,  have  done  well  in  school,  and  are 
a  just  source  of  maternal  pride. 

A  few  days  before  this  very  writing,  Mrs.  Friedrich 
said :  "  Whatever  happens  now,  I  have  had  the  children 
by  me  at  home  these  years.  And  they  are  good  children, 
and  if  I  were  to  live  now,  they  could  even  take  care  of 
me.  But  nothing  can  change  what  has  been  —  that  we 
have  been  together  with  each  other  since  their  father 
died." 

A  second  case  is  equally  illustrative  of  an  opportunity 
for  justifiable  relief,  amounting,  temporarily,  at  least,  to 
full  support. 


190  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  n 

Brecken,  Margaret,  a  young  woman  under  thirty  years 
of  age,  had  been  for  some  years  the  sole  support  of  her- 
self and  her  mother.  For  about  two  years  she  had  had 
"  lung  trouble,"  which  had  made  it  necessary  for  her  to 
give  up  work  for  weeks  at  a  time  on  several  occasions. 
At  the  time  of  our  first  acquaintance  with  the  family  she 
had  been  seriously  ill  for  two  or  three  months,  although 
her  local  family  physician  was  still  insisting  that  her  com- 
plaint was  only  "  bronchial  catarrh,"  and  that  she  would 
be  able  to  work  again  in  about  two  months.  The  mother, 
who  had  previously  done  the  housework,  was  also  ill ;  and 
although  her  present  acute  illness  was  one  from  which  she 
would  recover  in  a  fortnight  or  so,  there  were  indications 
of  inoperable  cancer. 

The  immediate  needs,  if  these  two  women,  who  were 
exceptionally  intelligent  and  affectionately  devoted,  were 
to  be  kept  in  their  little  home,  were  the  payment  of  rent, 
the  supplying  of  food  and  medicines,  the  daily  visit  of  a 
nurse,  the  services  of  a  physician,  and,  at  least  during  the 
mother's  illness,  the  sending  of  a  woman  to  do  the  house- 
work. This  is,  undoubtedly,  a  liberal  programme,  and  an 
exhaustive  one.  It  would  be  more  economical  to  secure 
admission  for  each  of  them  to  a  suitable  hospital,  but  this 
would  mean  separation  —  and  separation,  in  the  judgment 
of  the  nurse,  who  had  become  well  acquainted  with  them, 
would  be  an  almost  unendurable  hardship,  and  would 
probably  mean  the  earlier  death  of  both.  It  might  even 
be  cheaper  to  care  for  them  together  in  a  good  boarding- 
house  ;  but  so  much  care  is  necessary  for  both  that  only  a 
sanatorium  would  be  suitable,  and  most  of  the  items  of 
expense,  under  this  plan,  would  remain. 

Inasmuch  as  the  custodians  of  almost  any  relief  fund 
would  consider  the  amount  required  for  support  and  care 
of  the  family  at  home  prohibitive,  while,  nevertheless,  the 
dictates  of  humanity  call  for  this  kind  of  relief,  this  is 
peculiarly  a  case  for  adequate  relief  from  one  or  more  pri- 
vate individuals  who  can  be  made  thoroughly  acquainted 
with  all  the  circumstances,  and  who,  having  this  knowl- 
edge, are  willing  to  furnish  the  relief  required.  If  such 
persons  are  not  at  hand,  the  circumstances  of  this  mother 
and  daughter  may  wisely  be  used,  without,  of  course,  re- 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF   PROBLEMS  191 

vealing  their  identity,  to  create  a  knowledge  of  existing 
needs,  and  to  arouse  a  sentiment  which  will  permit  the 
need  to  be  supplied  in  this  and  similar  instances. 

Sheehan,  Mary,  widow  of  Richard.  This  widow  was 
the  mother  of  four  small  children,  and  had  been  advised 
two  years  ago  by  her  husband's  former  employers  to  apply 
to  the  Department  of  Public  Charities  for  the  commit- 
ment of  her  children  as  public  charges.  Richard  Sheehan 
had  worked  satisfactorily  for  them  for  a  period  of  eighteen 
years,  and  for  the  two  years  after  his  death  the  family 
had  been  supported  mainly  by  these  employers.  The 
Commissioner  of  Public  Charities,  having  discovered  that 
Mrs.  Sheehan  was  a  good  mother,  that  her  home  had 
always  been  an  attractive  one,  and  that  she  was  by  no 
means  desirous  of  parting  with  her  children,  accepted  the 
offer  of  a  society  that  the  latter  assume  the  responsi- 
bility of  providing  for  her  in  her  own  home  from  private 
sources,  thus  preventing  the  breaking  up  of  the  family, 
and  the  commitment  of  the  children  as  public  charges. 
The  employers,  although  under  no  legal  responsibility, 
since  Sheehan's  death  had  occurred  from  an  illness  in  no 
way  connected  with  his  employment,  agreed  to  contribute 
to  the  society  $100  a  year  toward  the  support  of  the  fam- 
ily, on  condition  that  this  contribution  should  be  unknown 
to  Mrs.  Sheehan.  None  of  the  children  is  strong,  one  a 
cripple  with  defective  hearing  and  speech,  and  the  woman 
also  is  in  delicate  health,  so  that  it  has  seemed  impossible 
for  her  to  do  anything  material  toward  the  support  of  the 
family. 

Mrs.  Sheehan's  parents  are  living  in  Ireland  with  a 
married  sister,  all  poor.  She  has  two  brothers  in  this 
country,  one  of  whom  is  unmarried,  and  boarded  with  her 
for  a  time,  but  he  caused  only  discomfort,  and  finally,  to 
her  relief,  went  away.  A  married  brother  living  in  the 
neighborhood,  earned  twelve  dollars  a  week,  and  his  wife 
considered  this  only  sufficient  for  their  own  wants. 

The  crippled  child  was  immediately  placed  in  a  hospital 
for  treatment.  The  church  to  which  the  woman  belonged 
agreed  to  send  a  weekly  supply  of  groceries,  and  a  weekly 
pension  was  provided  of  three  dollars  for  clothing  and  other 


192  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  n 

incidental  expenses  in  addition  to  the  provision  of  rent, 
for  which  purpose  the  contribution  of  the  employers  was 
provided.  A  friendly  visitor  was  also  readily  enlisted,  and 
through  her  influence  Mrs.  Sheehan  was  induced  to  have 
medical  treatment,  although  not  as  yet  to  undergo  a  sur- 
gical operation  which  she  is  thought  by  her  physician  to 
need. 

For  a  year  no  member  of  the  family  did  anything  or 
was  able  to  do  anything  towards  earning  an  income,  but 
in  the  second  year  Mrs.  Sheehan  undertook  to  do  a  small 
amount  of  sewing  from  a  society  which,  during  nine 
months  of  the  year,  provides  her  with  work  for  which  she 
is  paid  a  dollar  a  week,  while  in  the  remaining  three 
months  she  receives  the  same  amount  without  an  equiva- 
lent. Special  diet,  medicines,  tonics,  gifts  of  clothing, 
extra  supplies  of  fuel,  and  fresh-air  outings  have  been  fre- 
quent, for  all  of  which  there  has  been  ample  gratitude  and 
appreciation. 

The  little  girl  after  fifteen  months  in  the  hospital  im- 
proved so  much  physically  that  it  was  decided  to  place 
her  in  an  institution  for  the  deaf  and  dumb,  where  it  is 
thought  that  she  can  learn  to  speak. 

Recently  the  friendly  visitor  being  concerned  about  the 
appearance  of  the  oldest  child,  a  girl  of  eight,  took  her 
also  to  the  hospital  for  examination.  The  physician  de- 
clared that  the  case  was  not  one  of  deformity  but  of  a 
lack  of  proper  nutrition,  as  a  result  of  which  her  whole 
body  was  said  to  be  in  an  emaciated  condition,  requiring 
several  months  in  a  restful  place  in  the  country,  together 
with  a  varied,  nourishing  diet.  To  this  the  mother  re- 
plied that  she  had  been  giving  the  children  good,  plain 
food,  but  that  this  child,  who  was  very  nervous  and  no- 
tional, frequently  refused  her  meals,  and  asked  for  articles 
which  were  not  only  beyond  her  mother  to  provide,  but 
also  likely  to  be  harmful  to  her.  She  is  also  very  timid, 
never  playing  with  other  children,  and  positively  refuses 
to  be  separated  from  her  mother.  Arrangements  were 
therefore  made  for  an  extension  of  a  seaside  outing  for 
the  mother  and  child,  from  a  fortnight  to  a  full  month. 

The  relief  supplied  to  this  family  amounted  all  together 
to  about  $350  a  year  or  nearly  $30  a  month.  Although 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF  PROBLEMS  193 

this  is  almost  unprecedented  in  liberality,  the  indications 
are  that  it  is  under,  rather  than  over,  the  amount  necessary 
to  maintain  a  reasonable  standard  of  living.  It  is  of  course 
considerably  less  than  the  actual  cost  of  maintaining  the 
four  children  in  institutions,  which  would  be  about  $800. 

The  three  families  described  above,  although  presenting 
the  possible  alternatives  of  institutional  care,  are,  as  one 
may  see,  more  suitably  aided  at  home. 

The  following  is  an  instance  of  temporary  aid  at  home, 
followed  by  permanent  provision.  The  absence  of  imme- 
diate relatives,  physical  incapacity  and  age,  all  indicate 
the  desirability  of  admission  to  an  institution,  rather  than 
aid  in  a  private  apartment.  In  this  instance  no  difficulty 
is  experienced  because  of  personal  faults,  eccentricities  of 
temper,  or  an  unfavorable  personal  record,  such  as  would 
lessen  the  disposition  of  the  managers  of  a  private  home 
to  receive  her. 

Where  the  conditions  are  all  thus  favorable,  admission 
to  a  home  can  usually  be  secured  within  a  brief  period  in 
any  of  the  larger  cities.  It  does  not  often  happen  that 
the  conditions  are  all  so  uniformly  favorable.  Intem- 
perance or  other  moral  defect,  the  presence  of  relatives 
who  could  aid  but  will  not  do  so,  infirmities  of  temper,  or 
such  complete  physical  disability  as  demands  an  undue 
amount  of  personal  attention,  and  various  other  complica- 
tions are  likely  to  arise,  which  increase  the  difficulties  of 
securing  private  institutional  care.  The  choice  may  then 
arise  between  the  more  expensive  home  for  incurables,  or 
admission  to  a  public  almshouse.  There  are,  of  course, 
in  addition,  the  alternatives  of  board  in  a  private  family, 
of  living  alone  with  whatever  assistance  is  requisite,  or 
with  a  relative,  or  under  some  exceptional  plan  such  as 
the  circumstances  of  an  individual  case  may  suggest.  It 
will  be  seen  that  Mrs.  Mahler's  husband  had  made  pro- 
vision for  her  support,  but  through  misplaced  confidence 
the  principal  of  the  sum  left  to  her  had  been  lost. 

Mahler,  Marie,  widow  of  advanced  age.  At  the  death 
of  Mrs.  Mahler's  husband  she  received  insurance  to  the 
amount  of  $1750,  which  she  intrusted  to  her  landlord,  a  real 


194  PRINCIPLES   OF  BELIEF  PART  n 

estate  dealer.  He  had  paid  her  ten  per  cent  annually  on  the 
loan,  but  at  the  time  of  his  death  it  was  found  that  he  had 
left  no  provision  for  repayment  of  the  principal  or  to  pay 
his  other  debts.  His  wife,  as  long  as  she  could  afford  it, 
cared  for  Mrs.  Mahler,  but  at  the  time  of  the  application 
to  the  society  it  was  necessary  that  some  other  provision 
should  be  made.  Mrs.  Mahler  had  no  living  relatives, 
and  her  friends,  although  willing  to  do  something  for  her, 
could  not  do  what  was  necessary.  She  had  partly  sup- 
ported herself  by  doing  embroidery  and  fancy  work,  but 
her  hands  were  now  badly  crippled  with  rheumatism,  and 
this  had  become  impossible.  She  was  most  anxious  to 
enter  a  permanent  home.  Her  respectability  and  refine- 
ment, and  her  truthfulness  concerning  the  loss  of  her 
money,  were  established  by  sufficient  evidence,  and  ar- 
rangements were  made  with  an  acquaintance  of  Mrs. 
Mahler's  to  give  her  board  and  necessary  care  and  atten- 
tion, until  she  could  be  placed  in  a  home.  For  this  she 
was  to  be  paid  $10  a  month,  which  amount  was  obtained 
from  three  charitable  agencies,  all  appropriate  sources  for 
the  relief  of  a  woman  so  situated.  Application  for  admis- 
sion was  made  to  two  appropriate  homes,  and,  after  a 
delay  of  eight  months,  Mrs.  Mahler  was  admitted  to  one 
of  these,  a  part  of  the  money  having  been  contributed  by 
her  friends,  and  the  remainder  secured  by  an  appeal  in 
the  newspapers.  Mrs.  Mahler  was  very  contented  and 
happy  at  the  arrangements  made  for  her  care,  both  during 
the  period  of  waiting  and  upon  her  admission  to  the  home 
for  the  aged. 

Another  similar  solution  of  the  choice  presented  between 
the  almshouse  and  a  private  home  may  be  of  interest, 
especially  since  the  choice  in  this  instance  was  so  far  deter- 
mined by  the  applicant's  character.  She  was  not  only 
unwilling  to  become  a  charge  upon  the  public,  but  has 
shown  equal  independence  in  refusing  to  accept  relief 
offered  her,  when  she  did  not  need  it.  It  will  be  noticed 
also  that  her  application  was  pending  for  a  longer  period. 

Rahn,  Marie,  an  aged  German  widow,  on  being  visited, 
was  offered  aid  in  groceries  and  clothing,  but  declined 


PART  n  ,     TYPICAL   RELIEF   PROBLEMS  195 

it,  saying  that  she  needed  assistance  only  in  the  payment 
of  rent.  On  a  previous  occasion  a  private  society,  to  which 
she  had  applied  and  which  had  aided  for  three  months, 
referred  her  to  the  Department  of  Public  Charities,  but  she 
had  declined  to  become  a  public  charge.  A  little  later 
she  made  application  for  admission  to  a  private  home,  and 
was  doing  enough  sewing  to  meet  her  expenses  except 
for  rent.  Several  individuals  were  interested,  and  giving 
irregular  help.  These  sources  of  relief  were  organized 
on  a  definite  plan,  enough  being  obtained  to  pay  the  rent 
regularly.  After  living  in  this  manner  for  nearly  two 
years,  she  was  admitted  to  the  home  to  which  application 
had  been  made. 

Kennedy,  Jane,  widow,  was  referred  for  aid  by  a  private 
individual.  Mrs.  Kennedy  was  ill,  and  her  children  were 
unwilling  to  support  her.  The  housekeeper  at  previous 
address  spoke  well  of  her,  as  did  also  her  other  references. 
A  private  citizen  had  aided  Mrs.  Kennedy  for  some  years, 
and  the  church  to  which  she  belonged  gave  her  $2  each 
month.  A  son  in  Chicago  sent  for  his  mother  to  live 
with  him,  paying  her  transportation.  A  year  later,  how- 
ever, Mrs.  Kennedy  returned  to  New  York,  as  she  and  her 
daughter-in-law  could  not  get  along  together.  Her  sons 
agreed  to  care  for  her. 

During  the  next  six  years  Mrs.  Kennedy  was  frequently 
ill  and  in  need,  and  again  came  under  the  notice  of  two 
private  societies,  which  aided  her  at  times.  The  sons  and  a 
married  daughter  aided  irregularly,  but  offered  their  mother 
a  home  with  them,  which,  however,  she  declined.  Efforts 
were  made  to  have  the  children  contribute  regularly,  but 
these  were  unsuccessful.  The  church  still  continued  to 
aid. 

The  wife  of  one  of  her  sons  became  insane,  and  he  moved 
to  another  city,  leaving  a  daughter,  by  a  former  marriage, 
to  take  care  of  the  children.  Another  son  lost  his  mind 
through  excessive  drinking.  For  some  time  a  grandson 
lived  with  Mrs.  Kennedy,  and  aided  her,  but  she  became 
very  eccentric,  and  efforts  were  at  last  made  to  have  her 
placed  in  a  private  home  for  the  aged. 

Incompatibility  of  temperament  is  frequently  regarded 


196  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  n 

as  a  cause  of  distress  and  is  enumerated  in  some  tables 
classifying  such  causes.  Insanity  on  the  part  of  two  sons, 
and  eccentricity  on  the  part  of  Mrs.  Kennedy  herself,  indi- 
cate an  hereditary  predisposition  toward  mental  disturb- 
ance, and  this  in  itself  would  not  only  increase  the  chances 
of  dependency,  but  would  increase  the  difficulties  of  those 
who,  from  their  relationship  or  thorough  charitable  mo- 
tives, undertook  to  provide  for  it.  At  the  same  time  it 
cannot  be  said  that  Mrs.  Kennedy's  children  met  their  full 
obligation,  and  her  application  to  a  private  home  has  less 
chance  of  success  for  this  reason. 

Duncan,  Mary,  had  been,  from  a  young  woman,  a  suc- 
cessful nurse.  About  four  years  before  her  application 
for  aid,  she  had  been  run  over  by  a  bicycle  and  badly 
crippled,  unfitting  her  for  her  profession.  She  had  been 
an  inmate  of  four  homes,  principally  such  as  are  intended 
for  convalescents,  but  had  made  a  record  in  these  places 
of  being  generally  disagreeable  and  cross,  and  a  source  of 
an  unusual  amount  of  trouble  to  matron  and  attendants  — 
all  of  which  could  easily  be  accounted  for  by  her  health 
and  adversity.  Admission  was  secured  for  her  to  a  home 
for  incurables,  after  temporary  care  in  one  of  the  conva- 
lescent homes  in  which  she  had  previously  resided. 

Bacon,  William,  a  Civil  War  veteran,  and  his  blind  wife 
Mary,  afford  a  typical  illustration.  William  being  of  Eng- 
lish birth,  the  family  first  came  under  notice  sixteen  years 
ago  by  an  application  to  the  St.  George's  Society  referred 
by  the  latter  to  the  Charity  Organization  Society  for  in- 
vestigation. For  the  ten  succeeding  years,  the  couple 
remained  for  the  most  part  self-supporting,  temporary  em- 
ployment being  secured  for  the  husband  at  intervals.  On 
one  occasion  a  church  asked  for  information,  but  when  vis- 
ited the  wife  said  that  they  were  not  in  need,  and  that  there 
had  evidently  been  a  mistake.  Ten  months  later,  however, 
a  private  citizen  asked  that  assistance  be  given  them,  on 
the  representation  that,  although  the  man  was  employed, 
his  earnings  were  insufficient  to  support  them.  It  was 
said,  also,  that  the  couple  had  formerly  received  an  allow- 
ance made  by  the  city  toward  the  support  of  the  blind, 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF   PROBLEMS  197 

but  that  for  some  reason  this  had  been  discontinued.  An 
application  for  a  government  pension  had  always,  thus 
far,  been  unsuccessful.  A  supply  of  coal  was  given  the 
family  at  this  time,  the  first  relief  that  they  had  been 
found  to  need.  A  year  later  a  physician  called  attention 
to  the  needs  of  the  old  couple,  the  husband  being  a  patient 
in  a  public  hospital,  from  which,  however,  he  returned  to 
his  home,  rather  than  consent  to  a  transfer  to  a  hospital 
on  the  Island.  He  was  not  fully  recovered,  but  hopeful 
and  unwilling  to  break  up  his  home.  The  church  and  a 
relief  society,  under  these  circumstances,  provided  rent, 
fuel,  and  food.  Further  but  fruitless  efforts  were  made  to 
secure  the  government  pension  ;  and,  although  there  was 
a  general  feeling  that  the  couple  would  be  better  off  in  a 
home  for  the  aged,  there  was  final  acquiescence  in  a  plan 
by  which  a  church  visitor  assumed  the  responsibility,  un- 
dertaking to  raise  what  money  was  needed  to  supply  their 
needs  in  their  own  home. 

Trow,  Ebenezer,  is  a  man  of  refinement  and  education, 
nearly  seventy  years  of  age,  a  graduate  of  a  college  of  the 
highest  standing.  Twelve  years  ago  he  first  appeared, 
asking  for  employment,  which  was  secured  for  him  in  the 
office  of  a  safe  deposit  company.  Nothing  further  was 
heard  of  him  for  nine  years,  when  he  again  applied  for 
work,  but  expressed  anxiety  to  enter  a  home.  His  refer- 
ences agreed  in  describing  him  as  honest  and  respectable, 
but  lacking  in  judgment,  and  sensitive.  There  were  no 
relatives  living,  but  private  individuals,  upon  whom  he 
had  no  special  claim,  provided  for  his  board  temporarily, 
pending  his  admission  to  a  home  for  the  aged.  In  a  little 
less  than  two  years  an  opening  was  found  for  him,  his 
admission  fee,  with  $76  additional,  being  raised  by  a  col- 
lege fraternity.  Of  the  surplus,  Mr.  Trow  draws  a  dollar 
a  month  for  extras,  and  after  two  years'  residence  in  the 
home  seems  reasonably  content. 

Wheeler,  Charles,  a  railway  conductor,  deserted  by  his 
wife,  has  himself  borne  a  good  reputation,  and  gave  evi- 
dence of  a  clean  personal  history.  His  two  children 
have  been  indentured  to  farmers  in  the  West.  For  nine 


198  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PAKT  n 

months,  at  the  time  of  his  application,  he  had  been  living 
on  the  earnings  of  former  years,  which  were  then  ex- 
hausted. Through  a  newspaper  appeal  a  sum  sufficient  to 
pay  his  entrance  fee  in  a  home  for  the  aged  was  provided ; 
but  after  his  admission  he  became  ill,  suffering  with  ner- 
vous prostration  and  possibly  tuberculosis,  the  latter  being 
the  diagnosis  of  the  physician  at  the  home.  He  was  there- 
upon transferred  to  a  bed  in  a  home  for  incurables  at  a 
special  price,  for  which  he  shows  the  most  grateful  appreci- 
ation. The  repayment  of  the  entrance  fee,  which  in  this 
case  was  $150,  will  be  sufficient  to  pay  his  board  in  the 
home  for  incurables  for  about  a  year. 

Burden,  Caroline.  On  account  of  her  husband's  intem- 
perance Mrs.  Burden  felt  obliged  to  leave  him  thirty  years 
ago.  She  then  had  some  money,  however,  and  her  son  re- 
mained with  her.  For  six  years  they  lived  very  comfortably 
on  her  own  income  and  her  son's  wages.  At  that  time  her 
son  died,  leaving  her  about  12500.  The  son's  employers 
took  charge  of  this  sum,  paying  her  six  per  cent  interest  and 
taking  a  kind  interest  in  her  business  affairs.  She  opened 
a  store,  but  on  account  of  illness  was  forced  to  give  it  up. 
She  then  met  with  an  accident  which  made  treatment  in  a 
hospital  for  several  weeks  necessary,  and  from  this  accident 
she  never  fully  recovered.  With  the  occasional  help  of  the 
son's  employer,  however,  she  remained  self-supporting, 
drawing  the  last  of  her  money  about  a  year  before  her 
application  for  care.  She  was  found  to  be  of  good  reputation, 
and  to  have  no  relatives  in  position  to  aid  her.  Temporary 
admission  was  secured  to  a  country  home  for  the  aged,  but 
while  there  she  had  several  epileptic  seizures,  on  one  occa- 
sion falling  downstairs  and  dislocating  her  wrist.  It  was 
thought  that  she  was  mentally  unbalanced,  but  on  exami- 
nation by  experts  was  pronounced  not  to  need  attention  and 
was  returned  to  her  friends.  Application  was  made  to 
various  homes  for  the  aged  without  result,  and  board  was 
finally  secured  for  her  in  a  private  family  at  an  expense  of 
ten  dollars  a  month.  The  sum  of  $100  for  ten  months' 
board  was  contributed  by  the  son's  employer  and  an  appli- 
cation was  left  pending  at  a  suitable  home  for  admission 
whenever  a  vacancy  occurred. 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF  PROBLEMS  199 

The  five  following  cases  are  not  unlike  those  which  have 
been  presented  above,  but  are  grouped  together  for  the  rea- 
son that  all  of  the  histories  began  in  the  almshouse.  As 
a  result  of  investigation  all  were  removed  from  the  public 
institution,  either  to  the  care  of  their  relatives,  or  to  a 
private  institution. 

Brennan,  Sophie,  was  committed  to  the  almshouse,  hav- 
ing been  found  sleeping  in  doorways  and  halls  and  entirely 
destitute.  For  a  year  before  this  commitment,  efforts  had 
been  made  to  induce  her  three  sons,  all  of  whom  were  rail- 
way employees  in  receipt  of  good  incomes,  to  support  her. 
They  made  occasional  contributions  in  this  direction,  which, 
however,  amounted  to  little.  As  a  result  of  correspond- 
ence with  the  local  authorities  at  Albany,  where  one  of  the 
sons  lives,  his  wife  appeared  at  the  Department  and  took 
charge  of  her  mother-in-law.  An  agreement  was  made  by 
which  this  son  should  have  the  assistance  of  his  two  brothers 
in  providing  for  his  mother's  care. 

Rathgaber,  G-eorgiana,  had  been  a  public  charge  for  one 
year,  when  it  was  discovered  that  she  was  receiving  a 
pension  of  eight  dollars,  had  one  married  daughter  who  was 
a  professional  nurse,  that  a  married  son  with  no  children 
had  a  sufficient  income  to  provide  for  her,  while  a  sec- 
ond son  who  was  blind,  was,  like  the  mother,  a  public 
charge. 

The  daughter,  when  visited,  said  that  she  had  taken 
charge  of  the  sum  of  $450,  left  by  her  father,  and  had  taken 
two  dollars  a  week  from  it,  for  her  mother's  board.  When 
the  amount  was  exhausted,  she  sent  her  mother  to  the 
almshouse.  The  intervention  of  the  corporation  counsel's 
office  in  this  instance  brought  the  children  to  a  realizing 
sense  of  their  legal  obligations,  and  the  mother  was  removed 
from  the  almshouse. 

Sampson^  0.  W.,  aged  70,  was  admitted  to  the  aims- 
house  after  having  served  ten  days  in  the  workhouse  for 
vagrancy.  He  was  in  feeble  health,  afflicted  with  cancer 
of  the  nose,  and  his  clothing  was  in  tattered  condition. 


200  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  n 

He  declared  himself  homeless.  From  his  statement  when 
admitted  to  the  almshouse,  it  appeared  that  he  had  five 
children,  one  son  who  was  a  teacher,  unmarried,  and  four 
married  daughters,  one  of  whom  was  a  widow.  His  wife, 
Mrs.  Sampson,  lived  with  one  of  these  daughters.  He  has 
one  daughter  supported  by  her  husband,  who  is  himself 
in  Austria.  A  third  lives  in  Brooklyn  with  her  husband, 
who  is  a  printer,  and  two  children,  while  the  fourth 
daughter,  the  widow,  had  acquired  her  father's  business 
and  was  living  in  a  brownstone-front  house  in  Brooklyn. 

The  children  were  seen  and  all  refused  to  contribute  to 
their  father's  support.  His  wife,  to  whom  his  property 
had  been  originally  made  over,  likewise  refused  to  receive 
him.  The  corporation  counsel  was  asked  to  take  up  the 
case  against  them,  whereupon  representatives  of  the  fam- 
ily agreed  to  pay  three  dollars  a  week  to  the  depart- 
ment of  public  charities  for  Mr.  Sampson's  support,  on 
condition  that  suit  should  be  withdrawn.  This  offer  was 
accepted,  the  fund  was  allowed  to  accumulate  for  a  short 
time  in  order  that  there  might  be  enough  to  supply  Mr. 
Sampson  with  suitable  outfit  of  clothing.  He  was  then 
discharged,  and  is  now  living  upon  the  amount  provided 
by  the  family. 

Sharp,  James,  was  committed  to  the  almshouse  three  years 
ago,  and  has  remained  during  that  time  a  charge  upon  the 
state.  A  fellow-inmate  divulged  the  fact  that  this  was 
an  assumed  name,  and  gave  the  superintendent  his  correct 
name.  This  led  to  an  investigation  from  which  it  was 
discovered  that  Sharp  has  a  wife  and  children  living  in 
the  city.  One  son  is  the  general  manager  of  an  impor- 
tant business  in  Brooklyn,  and  was  desirous  of  providing 
for  his  father.  It  appeared  that  he  has  a  mania  for  get- 
ting admitted  to  institutions  under  assumed  names,  mak- 
ing it  impossible  for  the  family  to  locate  him. 


Nelson,  Charlotte,  widow  of  a  physician,  respected  and 
successful  in  the  practice  of  his  profession.  Mrs.  Nelson 
is,  however,  of  a  crotchety  disposition,  scarcely  mentally 
responsible,  although  adjudged  to  be  not  insane.  When 


PART  ii  TYPICAL  RELIEF  PROBLEMS  201 

first  known  to  the  society,  some  years  after  her  husband's 
death,  she  had  been  living  at  a  woman's  lodging-house, 
but  had  acted  queerly,  and  having  no  money  was  asked 
to  leave.  No  relatives  were  found  able  to  assist  her,  and 
although  persons  were  found  who  remembered  her  hus- 
band, there  was  no  one  upon  whom  she  had  any  special 
claim.  She  has  one  son  of  a  roving,  shiftless,  and  irre- 
sponsible character,  a  musician  by  occupation,  but  scarcely 
able  to  earn  his  own  support,  although  full  of  visionary 
schemes  for  caring  liberally  for  himself  and  his  mother. 
Mrs.  Nelson  was  aided  to  the  extent  of  $50  in  the  form  of 
rent  and  food,  but  she  met  with  several  accidents,  and 
after  treatment  in  a  public  hospital,  as  it  was  not  deemed 
safe  for  her  to  be  left  to  herself,  she  was  transferred  to 
the  almshouse. 

A  fortnight  later,  however,  money  was  obtained  through 
a  newspaper  appeal  for  her  care  in  a  private  institution, 
where,  at  the  date  of  this  writing,  she  had  remained  for 
two  years.  Here  she  had  a  private  room  and  special 
consideration,  but  was  chronically  dissatisfied,  and  was 
constantly  writing,  and  encouraging  her  son  to  write, 
complaining  letters  to  persons  who  might  possibly  be  in- 
duced to  aid  her  in  other  ways. 

Caspar,  Mary.  About  eleven  years  ago,  Mrs.  Caspar, 
who  was  then  a  widow  supporting  her  old  mother,  took 
into  her  home  her  sick  sister,  Mrs.  Manning,  and  her  two 
small  children,  Julia  and  Katherine.  Mrs.  Manning  had 
a  worthless  husband  and  had,  for  some  time,  supported 
herself  and  children.  Mrs.  Caspar  was  then  employed 
in  a  restaurant  at  eight  dollars  a  week,  in  which  place 
she  worked  for  about  ten  years,  her  hours  being  from 
7  A.M.  to  4  P.M.  Her  work  was  really  done  in  a  cellar 
kitchen.  It  was  entered  from  the  restaurant  above,  and 
the  only  ventilation  possible  was  from  a  window  over  the 
stairs.  Mrs.  Caspar  also  did  office  cleaning  from  which  she 
earned  three  dollars  a  week ;  and,  not  satisfied  with  this 
double  employment,  brought  home  each  week  some  towels 
to  wash.  After  an  illness  of  five  months,  Mrs.  Manning 
died  from  consumption.  Her  husband  lived  in  the  neigh- 
borhood, but  at  no  time  contributed  anything  toward  the 


202  PRINCIPLES  OF   RELIEF  PART  n 

support  of  the  family.  He  soon  after  died  in  one  of  the 
public  hospitals. 

About  a  year  after  Mrs.  Caspar  took  in  the  Manning 
family,  her  sister-in-law,  Mrs.  Stephen,  died  suddenly, 
leaving  four  girls.  One  of  these  was  adopted  by  another 
sister,  but  the  other  three  were  promptly  taken  into  Mrs. 
Caspar's  family,  who  retained  charge  of  the  two  children 
of  her  own  sister.  Stephen,  like  Manning,  was  shiftless 
and  intemperate,  giving  nothing  toward  the  support  of 
the  children,  and  keeping  entirely  away  from  them  except 
when  he  was  in  need  of  a  place  to  sleep.  He  also  died 
within  a  short  time  from  a  hemorrhage  following  an  attack 
of  pneumonia. 

The  oldest  of  the  Stephen  children  went  into  the  res- 
taurant with  her  aunt,  earning  three  dollars  a  week  to 
wait  on  the  cooks.  Here  they  remained  for  nearly  ten 
years,  until  the  restaurant  went  out  of  business.  As  Mrs. 
Caspar's  health  was  then  very  much  broken  she  was  per- 
suaded to  secure  a  lighter  kind  of  work. 

The  task  of  caring  for  the  small  children  fell  upon  Julia 
Manning,  and  Mrs.  Caspar  said  that  the  fact  that  they 
have  all  turned  out  to  be  such  good  girls  is  due  to  the  ten- 
der care  given  them  by  Julia.  As  soon  as  Julia  was  old 
enough  she  was  put  to  work,  but  after  only  a  few  months 
her  health  failed,  and  it  was  at  this  period  that  the  family 
came  under  the  care  of  the  society. 

The  youngest  of  the  Stephen  family  has  had  hip  disease 
from  birth,  and  has  been  treated  almost  continually  at 
an  orthopsedic  hospital.  A  brace  was  purchased  for  her 
at  a  cost  of  $12,  which  was  paid  for  by  Mrs.  Caspar  on 
the  instalment  plan  at  fifty  cents  a  week.  Another  of  the 
Stephen  children  is  also  delicate,  and  has  had  frequent 
medical  care.  There  has  scarcely  been  a  week  during  the 
eleven  years  in  which  Mrs.  Caspar  has  not  been  under 
expense  for  doctor's  bills,  medicines,  and  other  expenses 
due  to  illness.  After  application  for  relief  was  made, 
something  was  done  to  lighten  her  burden,  but  it  seems 
insignificant  when  compared  with  the  heroic  efforts  made 
by  Mrs.  Caspar  herself  and  the  children  whom  she  has 
trained. 

Notwithstanding  these  home  burdens,  Mrs.  Caspar  has 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF  PROBLEMS  203 

always  found  time  to  care  for  a  sick  neighbor,  and  to  see 
that  the  girls  attended  regularly  to  their  church  duties. 
During  the  past  year  Julia,  whose  health  has  rapidly  failed, 
has  been  visited  every  week  by  her  priest.  If  there  were 
a  possibility  of  saving  her  life  thereby,  she  would  be  sent 
to  a  mountain  sanatorium,  but  her  aunt,  her  priest,  and 
her  physician  are  averse  to  this,  in  view  of  the  probability 
that  she  has  but  a  few  weeks  to  live.  Carrie  Stephen,  the 
one  who  was  taken  in  charge  by  her  mother's  sister,  also 
has  consumption,  and  is  at  present  in  a  country  sanatorium. 

Extraordinary  burdens,  borne  with  still  more  extraordi- 
nary fortitude,  are  set  forth  in  this  story  of  Mary  Caspar. 
The  history  has  its  greatest  value  in  the  heroic  qualities 
shown  by  Mrs.  Caspar  and  by  the  niece  whom  she  reared, 
and  who  afterward  shared  with  her  the  responsibility  for 
the  younger  children.  It  exhibits  the  frightful  ravages 
from  pulmonary  tuberculosis  sometimes  witnessed  in  a 
single  family.  The  neighborliness  of  the  poor  to  each 
other  is  shown  no  less  conspicuously  than  the  readiness  still 
found,  although  more  rarely  under  the  severe  economic 
conditions  of  the  city,  to  receive  orphaned  children  and  to 
care  for  them  as  if  for  one's  own. 

The  growth  of  institutional  care  for  children,  and  the 
placing  out  of  children  in  foster-homes  through  societies 
formed  for  the  purpose,  has  doubtless  aided  the  tendency 
to  hesitate  to  accept  these  added  responsibilities.  On  the 
farm,  or  in  villages,  the  actual  cost  in  money  of  an  addi- 
tional child  is  relatively  much  less  than  in  the  tenement 
of  a  great  city.  When  to  this  is  added  the  possibility  of 
securing  ready  commitment  of  the  child  to  an  institution, 
where  the  physical  and  religious  conditions  of  training  are 
supposed  to  be  exceptionally  favorable,  it  is  not  surpris- 
ing that  the  natural  absorption  of  orphan  and  half-orphan 
children  in  the  community  is  seriously  checked.  The  case 
of  Mrs.  Caspar,  and  many  others  that  could  be  cited,  show 
that  this  absorption  does,  however,  still  take  place,  and  of 
course  the  majority  of  such  instances  do  not  come  under 
the  notice  of  charitable  societies. 

Sydney,  Philip.  A  family  whose  difficulties  were  so  com- 
plicated and  who  offered  a  problem  so  nearly  unsolvable  as 


204  PRINCIPLES  OF   RELIEF  PART  n 

to  justify  description  as  a  desperate  case,  is  that  of  a  col- 
ored West  Indian,  his  white  wife,  and  their  three  children. 
The  first  difficulty,  which,  in  a  sense,  includes  most  of  the 
others,  is  that  this  unfortunate  negro  is  afflicted  with  lep- 
rosy. Four  years  ago  one  of  his  feet  was  amputated,  and 
his  first  experience  with  charitable  agencies  was  as  a  pa- 
tient in  the  hospital  where  the  amputation  was  performed. 
Here  he  was  found  by  a  visitor  to  the  public  hospitals, 
who  became  sufficiently  interested  in  his  situation  to  raise 
the  money  with  which  to  purchase  for  him  an  artificial  foot. 
It  was  expected  that  with  this  need  supplied  he  would  be 
able  to  support  himself  and  his  family,  which  at  that  time 
consisted  only  of  his  wife  and  a  two-year-old  child.  There 
was  at  first  some  timidity  about  visiting  the  family,  espe- 
cially about  holding  conversation  with  the  leper,  but  the 
physicians  speedily  gave  assurance  that  this  was  not  dan- 
gerous ;  in  spite  of  which  assurance,  it  may  be  recorded 
parenthetically,  the  clerks  in  the  office  of  the  Health 
Board  developed  a  mild  panic  when  the  leper  himself,  in 
response  to  such  assurances,  expressed  his  pleasure  and 
then  first  made  it  known  to  those  whom  he  was  addressing 
that  his  inquiries  related  to  himself.  The  best  medical 
opinion  which  could  be  obtained  was  that  leprosy,  at  least 
in  this  climate,  is  not  contagious  in  the  ordinary  sense,  but 
that,  nevertheless,  it  is  communicable,  and  that  risks  would 
be  involved  if  one  were  to  come  into  physical  contact  with 
the  leper,  especially  if  one  happened  to  have  even  a  slight 
open  wound,  or  such  opportunity  for  infection,  as,  for 
example,  a  hangnail. 

In  the  three  years  after  his  apparently  complete  recovery 
from  the  surgical  operation  the  family  managed  to  exist 
with  only  occasional  relief.  The  mixed  marriage  and  the 
husband's  physical  affliction  made  the  securing  of  any  em- 
ployment a  matter  of  the  greatest  difficulty,  in  spite  of  the 
health  inspector's  assurance  that  he  was  not  a  source  of 
very  great  danger  and  that  the  thing  for  him  to  do  was  to 
get  a  job.  Two  more  children  were  born.  Throughout 
these  three  years  at  least  one  member  of  the  family 
was  always  an  inmate  of  a  public  hospital,  and  for  a  con- 
siderable part  of  the  time  two  were  under  care  at  the  same 
time.  The  man  has  more  than  the  average  intelligence,  is 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF  PROBLEMS  205 

a  skilled  typewriter,  and  has  not  shown  reluctance  to  un- 
dertake any  employment  offered  to  him.  For  nearly  two 
years  at  the  date  of  the  present  writing  he  has  supported 
himself  from  a  news-stand  and  in  similar  ways,  asking  for 
a  loan  only  to  establish  himself,  and,  after  reverses,  to 
reestablish  himself  in  a  good  location. 

Although  leprosy  arid  the  marriage  of  white  with  negro 
are  not  common,  they  are  only,  at  the  worst,  instances  of 
complications  that  are  by  no  means  uncommon.  Marriages 
of  mixed  nationality,  of  mixed  religion,  of  mixed  social  ori- 
gin, of  extreme  differences  in  age,  or  of  extreme  differences 
of  temperament,  are  constantly  appearing  to  increase  the 
difficulties  of  the  charitable  agencies,  and  to  complicate 
what  might  otherwise  be  comparatively  simple  tasks. 
Tuberculosis  and  another  even  more  dreaded  disease  are 
communicable  in  about  the  same  degree  as  leprosy,  and 
introduce  problems  of  a  similar  kind. 

Zed,  Albert  and  Mary.  In  January,  1892,  aid  was 
asked  for  a  family  consisting  of  Mr.  Zed,  twenty-eight 
years  old,  his  wife,  twenty-six,  and  two  children  under 
three  years.  The  previous  September,  owing  to  an  acci- 
dent while  at  work,  Mr.  Zed  lost  one  of  his  eyes,  and  since 
then  had  not  contributed  to  the  support  of  his  household. 
Mrs.  Zed,  a  fringe  maker,  had  utilized  such  time  as  she 
could  spare  from  her  children  by  working  at  her  trade  in 
her  rooms.  Fellow-workmen  took  up  a  collection  when 
Mr.  Zed  was  hurt,  but  it  had  been  exhausted,  and  debts 
for  living  expenses  had  accumulated. 

The  man,  while  sober  and  honest,  was  found  lacking  in 
energy  and  stability,  giving  up  work  for  trivial  reasons, 
and  in  his  periods  of  idleness  allowing  his  wife  to  bear  the 
burden  of  support.  She  was  delicate  physically  and  never 
free  from  the  need  of  tonics.  The  children  were  puny, 
unhealthy,  and  from  their  birth  required  cod  liver  oil  and 
also  alcohol  baths.  There  was  ample  work  for  a  friendly 
visitor,  the  man  needing  constant  urging  to  his  duty  and 
the  woman  wholesome  sympathy  and  encouragement. 

At  various  times  the  visitor  and  her  committee  placed 
the  children  under  hospital  care,  secured  the  cooperation 
of  societies  and  individuals,  keeping  proper  nourishment 


206  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  n 

supplied,  and  repeatedly  found  work  for  Mr.  Zed,  who 
would  keep  it  so  short  a  time  that  assisting  him  in  that 
respect  was  discouraging  and  almost  hopeless.  His  wife, 
always  willing  to  do  her  utmost,  was  hampered  by  increased 
expenses  and  debts  from  long  illness. 

In  January,  1893,  owing  to  the  fact  that  Mr.  Z.  had  been 
working  faithfully  and  the  friendly  visitor  had  kept  a 
careful  watch  over  them,  they  were  free  from  debt  and  had 
a  little  surplus  in  the  savings  bank,  but  in  May  of  that 
year  he  had  been  idle  or  only  earning  small  wages,  there 
had  been  more  illness,  and  again  debts  had  been  incurred. 
In  September,  1894,  one  child  was  buried,  and  during 
the  following  May  and  June  two  died  from  scarlet  fever. 

Until  October,  1896,  constant  help  was  required  and 
obtained.  Permanent  work  was  then  secured  for  him  at 
thirty  dollars  per  month,  which  he  still  retains,  having 
worked  steadily  from  that  time  to  the  present.  Mrs. 
Zed  has  worked  diligently  at  her  fringe  making,  debts 
have  been  paid,  an  honest  return  made  of  money  loaned 
by  the  friendly  visitor  in  emergencies,  and  they  have  bought 
a  new  sewing-machine  and  other  comforts. 

Keenan,  Frank  and  Nor  ah.  Mrs.  Keenan  was  first  aided 
in  groceries  when  her  husband  had  injured  his  ankle. 
Eight  years  later  the  family  was  again  aided  with  food  and 
clothing,  references  giving  a  good  report.  A  daughter, 
Kate,  was  placed  in  a  private  hospital,  where  she  died,  and 
Mr.  Keenan  went  back  to  his  old  position.  The  two  oldest 
children  were  in  Ireland  with  relatives. 

Two  years  after  this  Mr.  Keenan  was  ill,  and  two  private 
societies  and  a  church  aided.  Mrs.  Keenan  secured  work 
in  the  workrooms,  and  diet-kitchen  tickets  were  also  given. 
Her  husband  then  died,  and  funeral  expenses  were  met  by 
friends.  The  relatives  in  Ireland  refused  to  receive  Mrs. 
Keenan,  who  had  steady  work  and  was  able  to  pay  her 
rent.  The  next  year  the  family  was  aided  by  a  society 
for  the  relief  of  widows.  All  the  children  were  delicate, 
and  an  effort  was  made  to  find  work  for  the  mother  in 
the  country.  She,  however,  refused  to  go.  Diet-kitchen 
tickets  were  given  frequently,  arid  two  of  the  children 
were  sent  on  a  fresh-air  outing  to  the  country.  Here  they 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF  PROBLEMS  207 

were  so  much  loved  that  the  family  with  whom  they 
stayed  wished  them  to  remain,  but  to  this  Mrs.  Keenan 
would  not  consent.  A  friendly  visitor  had  supervision  of 
the  family. 

Mrs.  Keenan  soon  afterward  secured  regular  work  at 
a  settlement,  earning  six  dollars  a  week,  and  as  her  son 
Charles  also  had  employment,  she  notified  the  society 
which  had  aided  that  she  could  now  manage.  Two  years 
later  Charles  was  away  for  a  time,  and  when  he  returned 
found  steady  work,  and  had  increased  wages.  His  mother 
was  still  employed  at  the  settlement,  and  her  daughter, 
Jane,  also  had  work  there. 

The  following  is  an  instance  of  effective  relief  through 
transportation.  It  was  justifiable  in  the  case  of  the  Brad- 
shaws  because  they  had  been  but  a  short  time  away  from 
their  Virginia  home,  and  actually  owned  a  small  farm  in 
that  state,  to  which  they  were  returned.  The  folly  and 
the  hardships  inherent  in  the  "  passing  on  "  system  are  so 
serious  as  to  have  led  both  the  National  Conference  of 
Jewish  Charities  and  the  National  Conference  of  Charities 
and  Correction,  following  the  lead  of  the  former,  to  adopt 
a  set  of  rules,1  binding  upon  the  societies  adopting  them, 
and  a  telegraphic  code  for  communication  between  those 
who  purpose  sending  dependent  persons  to  another  com- 
munity and  their  corresponding  societies,  and  to  individ- 
uals in  or  near  the  community  to  which  it  is  proposed  to 
send  them. 

Bradshaw,  Henry  and  Florence,  were  brought  to  notice 
by  the  church  which  they  attended.  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brad- 
shaw  had  formerly  kept  a  boarding-house  in  a  southern 
city,  but  this  they  had  given  up  as  Mrs.  Bradshaw  was  ill 
with  lung  trouble,  and  had  come  to  New  York,  hoping  to 
better  their  condition.  Before  keeping  the  boarding-house 
the  family  had  lived  on  a  small  farm  which  they  owned 
in  Virginia,  and  which  at  this  time  was  rented.  Mr. 
Bradshaw  was  unable  to  do  heavy  work,  and  failed  to  get 
employment  of  any  kind.  His  wife's  health  failed,  and 
as  all  their  money  was  gone,  they  pawned  what  jewellery 

1  See  Appendix, 


208  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  11 

they  had.     Mrs.  Bradshaw's  relatives  aided  as  far  as  they 
could,  and  one  of  her  sisters  took  the  two  oldest  girls. 

Through  the  church  and  a  private  society,  assistance 
was  given  in  rent,  fuel,  and  food,  and  transportation  was 
provided  for  Mr.  Bradshaw,  who  returned  to  Virginia. 
A  month  later,  by  a  newspaper  appeal,  enough  money  was 
secured  to  send  Mrs.  Bradshaw  and  three  of  her  children 
to  her  husband  —  the  two  girls  remaining  with  their 
aunt  —  and  to  pay  for  the  transportation  of  the  furniture. 
Part  of  the  money  was  also  sent  to  a  private  society  in 
the  city  to  which  they  were  going,  and  with  this  amount 
groceries  were  provided  for  them  upon  their  arrival.  A 
little  later,  upon  hearing  from  the  family,  it  was  learned 
that  they  were  all  well  and  happy  at  their  return  home. 

A  typical  illustration  of  the  futility  of  furnishing  trans- 
portation in  ordinary  cases,  even  when  such  transportation 
is  to  the  original  home  of  the  applicant,  is  that  of  the 
Campbells,  who  on  each  of  three  occasions  presented 
plausible  reasons  for  the  giving  of  aid  in  transportation  to 
Scotland,  but  who  showed  themselves  equally  irreclaimable 
in  both  countries. 

Campbell,  Peter  and  Agnes.  Peter  was  known  chiefly 
on  account  of  the  occasional  sprees  in  which  he  indulged, 
but  the  enterprise  which  really  characterized  the  family 
was  shown  by  the  wife,  who  was  a  persistent  beggar. 
Three  times  the  St.  Andrew's  Society  helped  the  entire 
family  to  go  to  Scotland,  but  each  time  Mrs.  Campbell  re- 
turned because  there  were  greater  pecuniary  returns  in 
this  country.  A  corresponding  society  in  Glasgow  re- 
ported that  Mrs.  Campbell  had  succeeded  in  establishing 
that  her  husband  had  been  killed  by  a  car  in  Scotland, 
and  had  received  $100  damages.  It  was  after  this,  how- 
ever, that  the  same  husband  established  his  reputation  for 
laziness  and  intemperance  in  America.  A  son  Charles  in- 
herited his  mother's  fondness  for  travel.  He  went  to 
Africa,  but  returned  to  find  humble  employment  as  a  mes- 
senger at  four  dollars  a  week.  The  decision  of  the  Society 
was  that  the  family  was  entitled  to  relief  in  work  only. 


PART  n  TYPICAL   RELIEF   PROBLEMS  209 

The  writer  personally  well  recalls  the  circumstances 
under  which  the  next-mentioned  family  was  first  brought 
to  the  attention  of  a  charitable  agency.  It  is  one  of  ex- 
ceedingly few  instances  to  which  the  word  "  starvation," 
just  short  of  its  fatal  stage,  might  be  truthfully  applied. 
The  limbs  of  the  infant,  which  afterwards  died,  bore  a 
striking  resemblance  to  the  startling  pictures  published  to 
illustrate  the  results  of  Cuban  reconcentration,  or  those 
which  exhibited  the  conditions  of  the  victims  of  East  India 
famine.  The  infant  rallied  and  showed  immense  improve- 
ment within  a  few  days  of  the  beginning  of  proper 
nourishment. 

The  transaction  by  which  Mrs.  Donnerwald  disposed  of 
her  store  and  fixtures  was  turned  to  the  advantage  of 
another  dependent  widow  who  was  the  purchaser.  The 
amount  of  the  purchase  money  was  loaned  to  her,  and  in  her 
hands  the  store  became  a  means  of  self-support.  For  such 
ingenuity  in  adjusting  those  who  are  not  quite  capable  of 
managing  their  own  affairs,  there  is  ample  scope  in  the 
field  of  charitable  relief.  To  discover  that  the  keeping  of 
a  store  which  has  been  a  complete  failure  for  the  one  is 
exactly  the  occupation  required  for  another  who  has  made 
a  failure  as  a  laundress,  and  to  bring  about  a  change  of 
callings,  is  an  example  of  the  kind  of  service  which  may 
mean  considerably  more  than  a  grant  of  groceries  or  of 
money. 

Donnerwald,  Arnold  and  Lizette.  Mr.  Donnerwald  had 
been  a  saloon-keeper,  but  was  forced  out  by  the  high 
license  fee  required  by  a  new  law,  and  lost  f  1000.  He  then 
started  a  restaurant,  but  this  did  not  pay,  and  later  tried 
a  candy  store.  He  did  fairly  well  at  this  for  a  time,  but 
his  mind  became  unbalanced  as  a  result  of  undue  worry 
and  malnutrition.  Mrs.  Donnerwald  at  that  time  was 
taking  in  washing,  as  well  as  attending  to  the  shop,  and 
all  of  the  family,  through  lack  of  proper  food,  were  in  poor 
physical  condition.  Some  little  aid  was  given  by  a  former 
employer  of  Mrs.  Donnerwald's,  but  relatives  were  unable 
to  help,  and  her  husband's  children  by  a  former  marriage 
were  also  poor.  The  family  was  favorably  spoken  of  at 
previous  addresses.  A  private  society  gave  assistance  and 


210  PRINCIPLES  OF   RELIEF  PART  n 

provided  tickets  for  a  diet  kitchen,  and  a  little  later 
another  society  aided  to  the  extent  of  five  dollars. 

A  purchaser  was  found  from  whom  Mrs.  Donner- 
wald  received  forty  dollars  for  the  store  and  fixtures. 
Fifteen  dollars  of  this  amount  was  used  to  pay  an  instal- 
ment debt  incurred  for  furniture.  A  baby  who  was  ill 
was  placed  in  a  hospital,  where  it  remained  for  five  months. 
Although  still  very  ill,  the  child  was  sent  home,  and  died 
in  a  few  days.  Work  was  found  for  Mrs.  Donnerwald 
for  which  she  was  paid  six  dollars.  Her  husband  was  now 
in  an  improved  condition,  owing  to  better  food,  and,  as 
the  doctor  did  not  consider  him  to  be  dangerous,  he  was 
allowed  to  remain  at  home.  Both  the  private  society  and 
the  diet  kitchen  continued  aid  for  some  months,  and  in 
the  winter  fuel  also  was  provided. 

A  year  after  the  application,  Mrs.  Donnerwald  having 
secured  plenty  of  work,  the  family  became  self-supporting. 

The  following  case  furnishes  an  instance  of  a  deficient 
income  on  account  of  physical  incapacity.  Refusal  of  re- 
lief in  this  instance  would  doubtless  have  led  to  the  com- 
mitment of  the  children  as  public  charges,  while  the  giving 
of  a  moderate  amount  of  assistance,  and  aid  in  securing 
suitable  employment,  enabled  the  family  to  become  self- 
supporting,  though  not  until  after  Mr.  Bowles's  death. 

Bowles,  Thomas  and  Jane.  Mr.  Bowles,  having  been 
idle  for  months,  unable  to  secure  employment  because  of 
exceptional  stoutness  (weight  over  300  pounds),  and 
varicose  veins,  which  prevented  his  walking  or  standing 
continuously,  applied  to  a  newspaper  for  aid.  He  had 
been  clerk  and  bookkeeper,  and  afterward,  with  what 
money  he  had  saved,  started  a  cigar  store.  In  this  he  had 
failed,  losing  his  capital,  and  had  since  pawned  everything 
of  value  which  they  had.  There  was  no  income  what- 
ever, and  Mrs.  Bowles  was  near  confinement.  Aid  was 
provided  for  several  months,  and  on  some  occasions  money 
was  advanced  by  individuals  who  knew  the  conditions. 

Arrangements  were  made  for  Mr.  Bowles  to  enter  a 
hospital  for  treatment.  After  he  left  the  hospital,  he  was 
unable  to  find  suitable  employment,  and  the  wife  there- 


PART  ii  -     TYPICAL   RELIEF  PROBLEMS  211 

upon  tried  canvassing,  but  was  unsuccessful.  Work  of  a 
more  appropriate  kind  was  found  for  her  subsequently. 
Just  a  year  after  the  first  application,  employment  was 
secured  for  Mr.  Bowles  at  six  dollars,  which  was  later  in- 
creased to  eight  and  ten.  They  were  able  to  redeem  many 
articles  from  pawn,  and  the  wife  finally  gave  up  her 
work  to  take  care  of  her  three  children.  In  the  autumn, 
however,  the  season  for  the  man's  employment  having 
ended,  he  again  applied  for  assistance,  and  a  position  was 
found  for  him  in  a  public  hospital  at  $10  a  month  and 
board,  which  was  afterwards  increased  to  $20.  This  posi- 
tion he  held  until  his  death,  eighteen  months  later,  at 
which  time  his  fellow-employees  raised  the  money  for  his 
funeral  expenses.  Mrs.  Bowles  then  supported  herself 
and  the  children  by  caring  for  three  foundlings,  and  even 
at  the  time  of  the  birth  of  a  fourth  child,  soon  after  her 
husband's  death,  it  was  not  necessary  for  her  to  be  aided. 

Mrs.  Harrigan  presents  a  more  complicated  problem. 
She  had  the  unusual,  but  not  absolutely  unique,  experience 
of  burying  two  consumptive  husbands,  and  even  with  the 
third  she  did  not  become  independent  of  charitable  re- 
sources. The  tuberculosis  of  the  first  husband  was  doubt- 
less aggravated  by  alcoholism. 

Harrigan,  0-eorge  and  Annie.  Application  was  made  to 
a  newspaper  which  referred  the  family  to  the  society.  It 
was  learned  that  Mr.  Harrigan  had  been  ill  with  tuber- 
culosis for  about  six  months.  Prior  to  his  illness  he  had 
been  a  "longshoreman,"  and  had  saved  nothing  out  of  his 
earnings.  Forty  dollars  was  raised  by  friends  on  a  raffled 
watch,  and  upon  this  money  the  family  lived  for  some 
weeks.  There  were  two  small  children,  one  of  whom  died 
a  month  after  the  application  was  made,  at  which  time 
the  man  also  died.  The  family  was  aided  by  two  private 
societies,  although  at  previous  addresses  some  intemper- 
ance was  reported.  The  other  child,  a  girl,  was  placed  in 
an  institution  for  children. 

Seven  years  after  the  first  application  the  woman  again 
asked  for  assistance.  She  had  remarried,  and  her  second 
husband,  John  Deering,  had  supported  her  until  a  few 


212  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  n 

months  before,  when  he  too  was  taken  ill  with  tuberculosis. 
Clothing  and  other  articles  had  been  pawned  to  supply 
necessaries,  and  the  family  now  was  in  need  of  food.  The 
societies  which  had  at  first  aided  supplied  coal  and  grocer- 
ies and  milk.  Coal  was  given  also  by  the  city.  Through 
a  church  which  had  become  interested,  Mr.  Deering  was 
sent  to  a  hospital  for  consumptives,  but  remained  only 
a  few  days,  when  he  returned  home,  and  died  a  month 
later.  Mabel  was  brought  home  from  the  institution,  and 
temporary  employment  was  secured  for  Mrs.  Deering. 

Fifteen  months  later  an  application  was  made  by  Thomas 
Brown,  who  stated  that  he  had  married  Mrs.  Deering; 
that  a  month  before  their  marriage  he  had  broken  his  leg, 
and  since  that  time  had  done  but  little  work.  Mr.  Brown 
said  that  he  needed  clothing  in  order  to  secure  work. 
Mrs.  Brown  was  approaching  confinement,  and  the  visitor 
who  called  gave  her  advice  in  regard  to  a  doctor.  This 
advice,  however,  was  not  followed,  nor  were  wood-yard 
tickets  given  to  Mr.  Brown  used.  All  references  gave 
unfavorable  reports  of  Mr.  Brown.  He  was  considered 
unreliable  and  lazy.  The  closing  report  is  given  by  the 
visitor,  who  had  learned  from  Mabel  that  she  was  em- 
ployed in  a  factory  at  four  dollars  a  week,  and  was  living 
with  an  aunt.  She  would,  however,  give  no  information 
concerning  her  mother. 

Braddock,  Susan,  a  widow  with  two  sons,  Michael,  a 
cripple,  twenty-three  years  of  age,  and  Charles,  a  boy  of 
eleven.  At  the  time  of  application  all  were  homeless. 
Michael,  the  cripple,  was  admitted  to  a  hospital,  and  the 
younger  boy  to  an  institution  for  children.  Work  was 
offered  the  mother,  but  was  declined  because  of  small 
pay.  Temporary  work  was  found  for  Michael  after  his 
discharge  from  the  hospital,  but  the  family  removed  in  a 
short  time  to  an  unknown  address,  and  was  not  heard 
from  for  five  years. 

Mrs.  Braddock  then  applied  for  assistance  again,  giving 
the  name  of  McAndrew.  Her  second  husband  had  been 
run  over  by  a  wagon,  and  completely  disabled.  He  had 
been  in  a  hospital  for  eleven  months,  and  had  not  been 
able  to  work  after  his  discharge.  He  had  brought  suit 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF  PROBLEMS  213 

against  the  ones  who  were  believed  to  be  responsible  for 
the  accident,  but  had  gained  nothing.  Mrs.  McAndrew's 
younger  son,  now  sixteen  years  of  age,  had  broken  his 
wrist.  It  had  been  improperly  set  and  could  not  be  used, 
and  he  could  therefore  do  very  little  work. 

A  year  later  application  was  again  made.  Her  husband 
had  died  soon  after  the  last  application,  her  second  son 
was  out  of  work,  they  were  in  arrears  for  rent,  and  about 
to  be  dispossessed.  With  assistance  in  securing  temporary 
employment,  the  family  remained  self-supporting  for  one 
year,  when  they  were  again  in  arrears  for  rent  and  in  need 
of  food  and  clothing.  Temporary  relief  was  provided, 
and  work  secured  for  Charles.  At  the  end  of  another 
year  Charles  had  become  subject  to  epileptic  fits,  and  Mrs. 
McAndrew  herself  was  ill,  making  relief  and  the  attention 
of  a  nurse  necessary.  The  epileptic  son  had  fallen  while  at 
work,  and  was  badly  injured.  He  was  placed  in  a  hospital, 
and  board  was  secured  for  the  mother,  who  was  now  alone. 

Two  years  later  the  woman  applied  for  assistance  in 
her  earlier  name  of  Braddock,  which  she  had  resumed  on 
her  son's  account.  She  stated  that  Charles  had  been 
cured  by  a  clergyman,  but  as  he  was  out  of  work  they 
were  in  need.  Food  and  temporary  employment  were 
supplied,  and  eleven  months  afterward  the  son  who  had 
been  cured  had  another  seizure,  and  relief  was  again  re- 
quired at  intervals  during  the  following  year,  at  which 
time  the  family  moved  to  an  unknown  address.  There 
was  no  record  of  the  elder  son,  Michael,  after  the  first 
application. 

Illness  and  accident  are  sufficient  to  account  for  Mrs. 
Braddock's  misfortunes,  and  no  special  stress  need  be  laid 
upon  her  credulity,  and  her  clergyman's  imposition  in  the 
matter  of  the  "  cure  "  of  her  epileptic  son. 

The  cases  thus  far  considered  have  been  those  of  widows, 
or  of  aged  persons,  or  of  families  in  which  there  was  a 
deficiency  in  earning  capacity,  or  on  account  of  illness. 
Somewhat  different  are  those  in  which  the  family  becomes 
dependent  because  of  the  desertion  of  the  head  of  the 
family,  or  because  he  is  incapacitated  by  intemperance  or 
shiftlessness  or  grave  moral  deficiency  of  some  other  kind. 


214  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  n 

Mrs.  Carney,  concerning  whom  we  have  the  following 
brief  record,  was  herself  of  immoral  character,  and  her 
children,  instead  of  being  committed  for  destitution,  might 
more  appropriately  have  been  removed  by  a  magistrate  for 
improper  guardianship.  As  there  was  no  official  record 
against  her,  the  application  to  which  reference  is  made 
for  the  return  of  her  children  would  probably  be  granted. 

Carney,  Grrace,  had  two  of  her  children  committed  to  an 
asylum,  on  the  ground  of  her  husband's  desertion,  and  her 
own  inability  to  support  them,  being  ill.  Mrs.  Carney 
was  placed  in  a  private  hospital,  and  after  her  discharge 
remained  with  friends,  but  before  she  was  well  enough  to 
work,  or  care  for  her  children,  she  disappeared.  She 
visited  them  at  the  asylum,  however,  and  wrote  to  them 
frequently,  but  always  used  false  addresses.  She  was 
immoral,  and  frequently  in  need  of  hospital  treatment. 
Mr.  Carney,  who  was  an  iron-worker  earning  good  wages, 
could  not  be  found ;  therefore  no  action  could  be  brought 
against  him. 

Eighteen  months  after  the  commitment  of  the  children, 
Mrs.  Carney  wrote  from  another  town,  saying  that  she  had 
a  good  position,  and  was  about  to  take  her  children  home. 

As  an  illustration  of  heredity  in  pauperism,  the  three 
following  cases  may  be  studied  to  advantage.  It  will  be 
recognized  that  the  individuals  are  by  no  means  all  of  bad 
character,  and  that  there  are  not  lacking  misfortunes  of 
the  kind  that  prompt  charitable  neighbors  to  unquestioned 
relief  giving.  It  remains  true  that  the  development  of 
Mrs.  Young's  offspring  is  far  from  creditable  to  the  com- 
munity. 

Young,  Kate,  a  widow  known  to  the  society  for  the  past 
twenty  years.  Six  years  after  the  first  application,  Mrs. 
Young  again  came  to  the  attention  of  the  society,  when 
she  spoke  of  herself  as  a  widow  "  many  years,"  although  it 
was  known  that  her  husband  was  living  but  three  years 
previous.  Mrs.  Young  did  sewing  occasionally,  but  lived 
chiefly  by  writing  begging  letters.  She  was  spoken  of  as 
untruthful,  ungrateful,  and  intolerant  of  questions,  and  in 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   BELIEF   PROBLEMS  216 

this  respect  her  two  married  daughters  were  like  her.  Her 
home,  however,  was  always  clean,  tidy,  and  comfortable, 
and  at  previous  addresses  the  family  was  well  spoken  of. 
At  the  time  of  application  there  were  four  sons  at  home, 
Thomas,  James,  Alfred,  and  William. 

Thomas  was  an  epileptic,  and  could  not  do  much  work. 
Five  years  later  James  married,  and  Alfred,  who  was  ill 
with  consumption,  boarded  with  him.  No  further  record 
is  given  of  Alfred  after  the  return  home,  four  years  later, 
or  James,  who  was  then  a  widower  with  three  children. 
These  children  remained  with  their  father  only  until  the 
following  spring,  at  which  time  they  went  to  live  with 
their  maternal  grandmother.  William,  the  fourth  son, 
was  lazy,  given  to  cigarette  smoking,  and  rarely  earned 
anything.  References  given  by  the  sons  were  found  to 
be  either  false  or  unfavorable.  Nothing  definite  could  be 
learned  about  any  relatives,  Mrs.  Young  evading  questions 
in  regard  to  them. 

At  various  times  the  family  was  referred  to  the  society 
by  private  individuals,  to  whom  Mrs.  Young  had  applied, 
aid  having  been  given  at  times  by  all,  and  by  some  of 
them  for  many  years.  For  six  years  Mrs.  Burn,  one  of 
Mrs.  Young's  married  daughters,  and  her  children,  also 
lived  with  her.  The  family  separated  upon  the  return 
home  of  the  married  son,  James,  and  the  same  winter  a 
society  for  the  aid  of  widows  was  found  to  be  assisting 
both  families.  In  addition  to  the  aid  given  by  private 
individuals,  the  family  had  been  helped  by  two  private 
societies,  had  received  city  coal,  and  had  had  sewing  from 
two  other  societies,  one  of  which  had  also  aided  in  other 
ways. 

Fourteen  years  after  the  first  application,  Thomas,  the 
epileptic  son,  died.  Arrangements  had  been  made  pre- 
viously for  his  admittance  to  a  home  for  epileptics,  but 
this  his  mother  had  not  allowed.  After  his  death  Mrs. 
Young  applied  again  to  a  private  individual,  who  had  been 
interested,  but  aid  from  this  source  was  refused. 

A  year  later  Mrs.  Young,  who  was  then  in  poor  health, 
was  referred  to  the  society  by  a  private  individual,  but 
upon  a  visitor's  calling,  declined  aid,  saying  that  she  did 
not  need  it.  Her  daughters  were  living  in  the  same  house, 


216  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  n 

and  they  had  comfortable  homes.  Mrs.  Young  was  aided 
occasionally  by  a  private  individual  and  received  sewing 
during  the  winter,  for  which  she  was  paid  a  dollar  and  a 
half  a  week.  Threats  of  arrest  for  vagrancy  were  neces- 
sary to  put  an  end  to  the  begging  letters. 

Burn,  Annie  and  John.  Mrs.  Burn  is  the  daughter  of 
Mrs.  Kate  Young  (see  above),  and  acquaintance  was  first 
made  with  her  twenty  years  ago,  at  which  time  she,  her 
mother,  and  another  married  sister,  all  had  the  reputation 
of  being  untruthful  and  beggars,  and  the  brothers  of  being 
lazy.  Mr.  Burn,  who  was  supposed  to  be  in  poor  health, 
but  whose  ailment  was  really  laziness  complicated  by 
intemperance,  never  remained  long  at  any  work.  For  a 
time  he  earned  fourteen  dollars  a  week  on  a  street  rail- 
way, but  there  he  was  considered  unreliable.  His  wife 
did  sewing  occasionally. 

Nine  years  later  Mr.  Burn  deserted,  and  his  wife  with 
two  of  her  children  went  to  live  with  her  mother,  where 
she  posed  as  a  widow,  —  although  Mr.  Burn  visited  her 
frequently,  —  while  the  two  oldest  children  were  placed 
in  an  institution,  where  they  remained  for  a  year.  At  the 
end  of  that  time  one  of  them,  Arthur,  obtained  employ- 
ment as  a  hall  boy,  and,  at  the  same  time,  Mrs.  Burn  was 
aided  in  securing  work  as  a  saleswoman.  It  was  later 
found  that  she  was  filling  the  position  under  the  assumed 
name  of  a  cousin,  whose  excellent  references  she  had  used 
in  obtaining  the  place.  Her  employers,  however,  spoke 
well  of  her. 

Soon  afterward  Mrs.  Burn  left  her  mother's  home,  upon 
the  return  of  her  brother,  who  had  become  a  widower, 
with  his  children ;  and  a  year  later  Arthur  enlisted  for  war, 
returning,  however,  the  following  year,  ill.  He  reenlisted 
four  months  later,  and  was  ordered  to  the  Philippines. 
His  mother  made  this  an  occasion  for  appeal  to  two  pri- 
vate citizens,  who  aided  her.  Mrs.  Burn's  health  failing, 
she  left  work  and  was  aided  in  rent  and  in  procuring  an 
elastic  stocking.  Her  daughter  Emily  was  employed  in  a 
shop  at  four  dollars  a  week,  and  later  at  six,  at  which 
time  her  mother  also  had  employment  at  twelve  dollars  a 
week,  but  gave  it  up  soon  afterward. 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF   PROBLEMS  217 

The  following  year  Mrs.  Burn  was  ill,  and  her  mother 
and  married  sister,  Mrs.  Low,  lived  in  the  same  house 
with  her.  Two  years  after  this  a  private  individual  was 
applied  to  for  money  in  order  to  give  Mrs.  Burn  a  start 
with  a  firm  in  another  city.  Her  daughter  Emily  had 
married  a  farmer  in  New  York  State  and  Mrs.  Burn's 
second  son  was  employed  in  a  New  York  store. 

During  the  years  the  family  was  under  notice  they 
were  aided  frequently  by  different  private  societies,  among 
them  a  society  for  the  aid  of  widows,  which  for  a  winter 
helped  Mrs.  Burn,  until  the  fact  was  discovered  that  her 
husband  was  living.  In  addition  to  this  assistance  many 
private  individuals  had  aided,  some  of  them  for  a  long 
period  of  time. 

Holton,  Alfred  and  Frances.  Mrs.  Holton  is  the  daugh- 
ter of  Kate  Young  and  sister  to  Annie  Burn  (see  above). 
Her  husband,  whose  references  gave  him  the  reputation 
of  being  intemperate  and  dishonest,  although  a  few  years 
before  he  had  worked  steadily  and  faithfully,  had  deserted, 
and  under  an  alias  enlisted  in  the  army.  A  friend  who 
had  previously  aided  referred  Mrs.  Holton  for  work. 
During  the  next  few  months  many  private  individuals  re- 
ported the  family,  Mrs.  Holton  having  applied  to  them  for 
aid.  Her  daughter  Lucy  was  regularly  at  work,  and  sew- 
ing was  given  to  Mrs.  Holton  by  a  society,  which  insured 
her  a  dollar  a  week.  A  private  individual  also  aided  and 
gave  temporary  employment.  The  opportunity  for  a  fresh- 
air  outing  was  given  to  the  children,  but  this  was  declined. 

In  the  autumn  of  the  same  year  Lucy  secured  a  posi- 
tion in  the  millinery  department  of  a  dry  goods  house  at 
seven  dollars,  and  through  the  assistance  of  a  private 
citizen  and  a  charitable  society  the  needed  outfit  of  silk 
waist  and  skirt  were  purchased,  with  the  understanding 
that  the  money  was  advanced  only  as  a  loan.  For  three 
seasons  a  private  society  supplied  Mrs.  Holton  with  sew- 
ing, and  at  the  end  of  that  time,  her  husband  having 
returned  home,  the  family  became  self-supporting. 

The  immediate  cause  of  the  dependence  in  the  follow- 
ing case  was  a  loss  of  employment  owing  to  a  change  in 


218  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  n 

industrial  conditions.  Whether  the  ultimate  responsibility 
should  be  assigned  to  industrial  causes  or  to  family  condi- 
tions, may  well  be  left  to  the  student,  who  in  either  event 
will  undoubtedly  feel  a  considerable  degree  of  sympathy  for 
the  draughtsman  who  lost  his  employment  just  after  finding 
himself  called  upon  to  provide  for  four  infant  children. 

Rossi,  Attila  and  Vittoria,  an  Italian  Protestant  family, 
the  parents  both  under  thirty  years  of  age,  and  four  children 
comprising  two  sets  of  twins,  respectively  one  month  and 
thirteen  months  of  age.  A  two-year-old  child  had  died 
immediately  after  their  application  for  assistance.  Mr. 
Rossi  is  an  intelligent  man  of  refined  and  delicate  appear- 
ance, an  architectural  draughtsman  by  training,  and  un- 
fitted for  other  than  clerical  work.  He  had  been  employed 
for  over  a  year  with  a  well-known  building  firm,  which, 
however,  had  closed  out  the  architectural  branch  of  its 
business  on  account  of  the  strike  in  the  building  trades, 
leaving  Mr.  Rossi  without  employment. 

When  he  called  at  the  office  he  was  in  a  very  discouraged 
frame  of  mind,  declaring  that,  even  when  employed  at  $12 
a  week,  his  income  was  not  sufficient  to  support  his  family, 
that  he  must  find  a  place  where  he  could  earn  at  least  $14, 
and  if  he  could  not  do  this,  he  would  run  away  and  leave 
his  family.  The  visitor,  who  berated  him  soundly  for  this 
cowardly  attitude,  was  inclined,  on  calling  at  his  home,  if 
not  to  sympathize  with  it,  at  least  to  appreciate  more  fully 
his  difficulties.  Mrs.  Rossi  had  gone  out  to  search  for  em- 
ployment. The  husband,  who  was  at  home  with  the  chil- 
dren, said  that  they  were  taking  turns  in  the  hunt  for  work, 
one  staying  with  the  children.  The  one  who  remained  was 
kept  busy  every  moment  with  the  four  babies,  getting  their 
milk  warm,  feeding  them,  and  giving  them  necessary  care. 
The  gas  bill  was  very  high,  as  the  gas  had  to  be  kept  burn- 
ing almost  constantly  to  keep  the  milk  warm  for  the  babies. 
One  of  the  younger  twins  was  quite  ill,  and  had  appar- 
ently a  slender  hold  on  life.  Rooms  and  children  were, 
however,  immaculately  clean. 

Mrs.  Rossi  could  do  shop  work  without  injuring  her 
health,  but  was  really  not  strong  enough  to  care  for  the 
four  children  and  do  the  necessary  work  at  home.  The 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF   PROBLEMS  219 

plan  of  hiring  a  woman  to  look  after  the  children  while  the 
wife  worked  had  been  tried,  but  was  not  a  success.  A 
woman  who  promised  well  had  been  engaged  at  $3  a  week 
and  board,  but  she  left  at  the  end  of  the  week  saying  that 
the  work  was  too  heavy.  Mrs.  Rossi's  people  live  on  the 
same  floor,  but  they  cannot  give  any  assistance.  Her  aged 
father  and  mother  are  supported  by  one  son  and  two 
daughters,  all  of  whom  are  at  work,  and  the  mother  is  able 
only  to  do  the  necessary  housework  in  her  own  rooms. 
They  are  giving  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Rossi  meals,  but  cannot  con- 
tinue to  do  this. 

Mr.  Rossi  does  not  wish  charity,  but  the  only  solution 
that  appears  to  him  possible  is  to  place  the  four  children 
in  some  home  or  institution,  so  that  both  he  and  his  wife 
can  work  and  earn  the  money  to  live  on,  and  to  pay  for 
their  children's  board. 

Prior  to  this  application  the  family  had  twice  been 
referred  for  assistance  by  a  sympathetic  clergyman,  but  on 
each  occasion  Mr.  Rossi  had  been  found  to  be  at  work, 
and  earning  about  §12  a  week,  and  with  only  one  set  of 
twins  in  the  family,  this  had  been  considered  an  income  on 
which  they  should  be  able  to  live,  notwithstanding  instal- 
ment-plan debts  for  furniture  and  clothing. 

Illness  enters  into  the  problem  presented  in  the  three 
following  cases.  A  family  which  has  a  normal  standard  of 
living,  will,  of  course,  provide  for  illness,  as  well  as  other 
contingencies.  A  question  might  therefore  arise  whether 
illness,  any  more  than  old  age,  may  justly  be  put  down  as 
a  cause  of  destitution.  It  remains  true,  that  when  a  family 
is  near  the  margin  of  self-support,  constantly  recurring 
illness  contributes  the  element  which  appears  to  justify 
either  public  or  private  relief.  In  the  decision  as  to 
whether  relief  should  be  from  public  or  private  sources, 
weight  may  properly  be  given  to  any  evidence  tending  to 
show  that,  while  in  position  to  do  so,  attempts  were  made  to 
provide  for  illness.  Much  may  be  said  in  favor  of  limiting 
private  charity  to  those  who  make  reasonable  attempts  to 
provide  for  old  age,  accident,  or  illness. 

Brady,  Frank  and  Ellen.  Mr.  Brady  applied  for  assist- 
ance, his  wife  having  but  a  few  days  before  left  the  hos- 


220  PRINCIPLES   Otf  RELIED  PART  n 

pital  after  confinement,  and  being  now  at  home  and  in  need 
of  food.  Mr.  Brady's  references  being  favorable,  a  pri- 
vate society  aided.  A  month  later  Mr.  Brady  had  secured 
work,  and  nothing  was  heard  of  the  family  for  six  years, 
when  Mr.  Brady  again  called.  He  had  worked  for  a  dry- 
goods  house  for  five  years,  had  been  ill  in  a  hospital  for  five 
weeks,  and  upon  his  return  to  work  had  found  his  place 
filled.  For  three  months  he  received  $6  a  week  from 
a  sick-benefit  fund,  and  then  secured  temporary  work, 
which,  however,  ceased  soon  afterward.  Mrs.  Brady  had 
for  three  months  been  employed  four  days  a  week  at  a 
private  institution,  but  was  now  out  of  employment. 
Rent  was  due  and  they  needed  food.  The  references 
of  both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Brady  spoke  well  of  them,  and  at 
previous  addresses  they  were  favorably  considered.  A  pri- 
vate society  again  aided,  and  later  a  church  took  charge. 

After  another  year  Mr.  Brady  again  applied.  He  had 
had  no  employment  during  the  winter,  but  they  had  been 
aided  by  a  church,  which  aid,  however,  was  now  with- 
drawn. Wood-yard  tickets  were  offered,  but  refused  on 
the  ground  that  he  was  not  strong  enough  for  such  work. 
Three  months  later  Mrs.  Brady  called  at  the  office,  saying 
that  they  were  in  great  need,  and  that  neither  of  them 
had  work.  Aid  was  supplied,  and  work  in  the  laundry 
for  Mrs.  Brady.  An  interval  of  four  months  passed 
before  Mrs.  Brady  was  again  seen.  At  this  time  Mr. 
Brady  was  in  a  hospital,  ill  with  grippe,  and  she  too  had 
been  ill,  and  now  had  but  little  work.  Aid  was  secured 
from  a  private  society,  and  a  diet  kitchen  supplied  nour- 
ishing food.  Two  months  after  this  Mr.  Brady  made 
application  to  another  society.  They  were  again  out  of 
employment,  Mrs.  Brady  was  ill,  and  they  were  in  need. 
Groceries  were  given,  and  also  a  wood-yard  ticket  to  Mr. 
Brady.  Soon  afterward  Mrs.  Brady  secured  employment 
in  a  hotel  at  $14  a  month.  Her  husband  had  used  sev- 
eral tickets  at  the  wood  yard,  but  was  now  in  need  of  shoes, 
which  were  given.  Two  months  later  both  man  and  wife 
were  working,  and  had  become  self-supporting. 

Wilton,  Charlotte,  a  widow,  little  past  middle  age,  who 
had  supported  herself  by  making  artificial  flowers  and 


PART  ii  TYPICAL  BELIEF  PROBLEMS  221 

letting  furnished  rooms.  She  lost  her  work  at  the  time 
of  her  application,  and  also  her  lodgers,  two  of  whom  had 
left  owing  room  rent,  and  one  of  them  having  stolen  from 
her  $45  in  cash.  Mrs.  Wilson  was  anxious  to  get  light 
work  so  that  she  could  keep  her  rooms.  She  could  give 
no  business  references,  as  she  had  secured  her  work  in 
artificial  flowers  through  another  employee.  She  had  a 
good  reputation,  however,  at  her  previous  residences,  and 
was  favorably  considered  at  the  mission  which  she  at- 
tended. 

It  was  learned  that  until  she  was  forty  years  of  age 
she  had  been  a  circus  rider,  tight-rope  walker,  and  ballet 
dancer.  A  personal  friend  was  found  who  loaned  Mrs. 
Wilson  enough  money  to  enable  her  to  move  to  cheaper 
rooms,  where  she  secured  a  lodger,  and  was  given  some 
plain  sewing.  A  few  months  later  she  undertook,  also, 
work  as  chambermaid  in  a  hotel.  Six  months  after  her 
first  call  she  had  a  fall,  resulting  in  a  broken  arm.  Al- 
though she  was  taken  to  a  hospital,  her  arm  was  not 
properly  set,  and  always  troubled  her  afterwards.  Coal, 
groceries,  and  delicacies  of  various  kinds  were  provided 
during  the  winter,  and  in  the  spring,  both  of  her  avail- 
able rooms  being  rented,  she  became  self-supporting. 

For  over  a  year  she  continued  to  keep  lodgers  and  to 
work  as  chambermaid,  but  on  account  of  a  change  in  man- 
agers at  the  hotel  she  lost  her  employment,  and  undertook 
instead  to  do  some  cleaning  for  her  landlord.  A  slight 
margin  between  her  earnings  and  needs  was  filled  in  from 
charitable  sources.  A  year  later  another  small  amount  of 
assistance  was  required,  but  she  then  secured  temporary 
work  and  became  janitress  at  two  houses,  receiving  $8  a 
month  and  rent  free,  but  having  to  pay  for  some  of  the 
heavier  work  on  account  of  her  injured  arm.  In  the  win- 
ter she  had  again  injured  herself  slightly,  enough  to  inter- 
fere with  her  work,  and  groceries  and  coal  were  supplied, 
and  temporary  employment.  In  the  spring,  temporary 
work  being  secured  again,  she  became  for  the  time  self- 
supporting. 

We  have  said  that  private  relief  may  not  improperly  be 
made  contingent  upon  provision  having  been  made  for  the 


222  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  n 

misfortune  which  causes  distress.  When  destitution  is 
brought  about  by  the  desertion  of  the  natural  breadwin- 
ner of  the  family,  it  would  seem  necessary  to  waive  this 
condition,  since  desertion  is  a  crime,  which  the  wife  can 
scarcely  be  expected  to  anticipate,  and  for  which  the  de- 
serting husband  will  hardly  have  made  provision.  Another 
consideration,  however,  becomes  paramount,  and  this  is  a 
consideration  which  enters  also  into  every  other  decision 
about  relief.  This  is  the  effect  of  relief  upon  others  in 
the  community,  who  are  likely  to  be  influenced  by  the 
results  of  desertion.  If  a  man  of  comparatively  weak 
character,  who  is  having  a  severe  struggle  to  support  his 
family,  and  who  is  on  the  verge  of  discouragement,  sees 
that  ample  provision  is  made  for  the  family  of  his  neigh- 
bor when  its  head  disappears,  the  idea  may  well  take  root 
in  his  mind  that  this  is,  on  the  whole,  the  best  way  for 
him  also  to  provide  for  his  own.  From  actual  desertion 
in  a  desperate  case  it  is  only  a  short  step  to  temporary 
desertion  in  special  emergencies,  and  from  this  to  fraudu- 
lent desertion,  when,  by  connivance  between  husband  and 
wife,  it  is  pretended  that  he  has  gone  away,  when  he  is,  in 
fact,  at  home,  or  in  the  immediate  vicinity. 

Oamaili,  Joseph  and  Johanna.  Mrs.  Camaili  desired  to 
have  two  of  her  children  committed,  her  husband  having 
become  infatuated  with  another  woman  and  deserted. 
Because  of  whooping-cough  in  the  family,  no  institution 
would  accept  the  children,  but  a  settlement  and  the  church 
to  which  the  woman  belonged  provided  what  assistance 
was  necessary.  The  man's  whereabouts  were  ascertained 
in  another  city,  and  a  visitor  in  that  city  persuaded  him 
to  return  to  his  family. 

Eighteen  months  later,  however,  there  was  another  appli- 
cation for  commitment,  the  father  having  deserted,  as  it 
was  learned,  for  the  fourth  time.  His  father  and  mother 
and  sister,  however,  remained  with  the  deserted  wife.  It 
was  ascertained  that  he  had  gone  to  the  same  city  in  which 
he  had  been  found  before,  and  from  there  he  sent  word 
that  he  would  like  to  have  his  family  join  him.  The  pub- 
lic authorities  declined  to  provide  transportation,  for  the 
reason  that  a  report  from  the  place  where  he  was  living 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF  PROBLEMS  223 

indicated  that  his  home  was  not  a  desirable  one,  or  suitable 
for  the  reception  of  his  children.  The  family,  however, 
decided  later  to  go  on  their  own  account,  and  nothing  has 
since  been  heard  from  him. 

Richards,  Kate,  deserted  by  her  husband.  Mrs.  Rich- 
ards came  of  a  respectable  family.  She  has  a  sister  who 
has  aided  her,  and  sons  living  in  the  city  who  would  aid  if 
she  would  come  to  them,  but  she  is  an  incorrigible  vagrant, 
apparently  unsound  of  mind,  abusive,  and  intemperate. 
Her  sons  had  been  removed  from  her  custody  while  young, 
and  sent  to  foster-homes  in  the  west.  She  appears  fre- 
quently at  application  bureaus,  telling  incoherent  stories, 
and  is  often  aided  with  meal  tickets,  clothing,  and  lodgings, 
has  often  been  a  guest  at  the  Woman's  Hotel  of  the  Sal- 
vation Army,  and  has  been  an  inmate  of  a  workhouse,  a 
home  for  discharged  prisoners,  and  a  home  for  fallen  women. 
She  makes  false  and  irrational  statements  concerning  her 
family.  After  irregular  dealing  with  the  woman  for  five 
or  six  years,  the  case  was  definitely  closed  as  unhelpable 
with  the  resources  at  hand. 

Kemp,  Anna.  When  Mrs.  Kemp  first  made  application 
for  assistance  she  and  her  seven  children  had  been  deserted 
by  her  husband,  who  was  intemperate  and  shiftless,  where- 
upon she  had  come  to  New  York,  as  she  had  a  brother  and 
sister  here  who  aided  to  some  extent.  Five  of  the  children 
were  committed  to  an  institution.  Mrs.  Kemp  then  se- 
cured day's  work,  and  was  able  to  support  herself  and  her 
two  other  children,  Edward  and  Lily. 

Three  years  later  Edward  was  earning  three  dollars 
a  week,  and  his  mother  about  six.  Efforts  were  then 
made  to  have  the  children  taken  out  of  the  institution  and 
cared  for  at  home.  But  relatives  refused  to  help,  and  as 
John's  eyes  were  giving  him  a  great  deal  of  trouble,  he  and 
two  sisters  remained  in  the  institution,  and  the  two  others 
were  taken  home.  Soon  afterward  John  died  in  the  insti- 
tution. A  year  later  all  of  the  children  were  at  home 
with  the  mother,  and  the  family  was  doing  well. 

Deserted  families  afford  very  serious  problems,  which, 
however,  are  probably  not  more  difficult  than  those  arising 


224  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  n 

in  attempts  to  help  the  families  of  intemperate  men ;  cer- 
tainly not  more  difficult  than  those  inherent  in  attempts 
to  improve  the  condition  of  a  family  in  which  there  is  an 
intemperate  mother.  When  destitution  is  caused  by  drink 
there  are  always,  of  course,  other  complications — illness, 
shiftlessness,  or  inefficiency.  One  or  many  of  these  symp- 
toms may  appear,  and  whether  the  principal  difficulty  be 
industrial,  or  physical,  or  moral,  intemperance  is  likely  to 
enter  as  a  contributory  factor  in  a  very  large  proportion  of 
cases.  Statistics  upon  the  point  differ  widely.  It  is  prob- 
ably true  that  in  one-fourth  of  the  cases  brought  to  the 
attention  of  public  or  private  charitable  agencies  distress 
is  due  to  the  intemperance  of  the  natural  breadwinner  of 
the  family,  and  that  in  fully  another  one-fourth,  drink 
aggravates  a  situation  which  would  otherwise  easily  be 
remedied.  This  would  be  shown  on  a  full  statement  of 
all  the  facts  in  the  cases  already  cited.  It  is  a  more  promi- 
nent element,  although  again  by  no  means  the  only  one,  in 
the  following  instances. 

Dolan,  Thomas  and  Ann,  asked  for  aid  seven  years  ago, 
but  could  not  be  found  when  visited,  and  were  not  heard  of 
again  for  four  years,  when  Mrs.  Dolan  applied  for  aid  in 
rent,  her  husband  having  deserted,  and  her  relatives  being 
unable  to  help.  At  the  various  places  where  the  family 
had  lived  it  was  found  that  Mrs.  Dolan  had  supported  the 
family,  and  that  her  husband  was  drunken,  lazy,  and  abu- 
sive. Application  was  made  for  the  commitment  of  the 
children  on  the  ground  of  destitution,  but  this  was  refused 
by  the  public  authorities,  and  an  order  was  obtained  from 
court  requiring  Dolan  to  support  his  family.  He  was 
found  and  returned  home,  but  would  not  work,  and  was 
not  prosecuted  under  the  magistrate's  order. 

Ten  months  later  Dolan  was  sent  to  the  penitentiary  for 
burglary,  remaining  for  nine  months.  On  his  discharge 
Mrs.  Dolan  permitted  him  to  come  home,  concealing  the 
fact,  however,  from  the  church  which  then  was  aiding. 
One  child  was  taken  to  an  eye  and  ear  hospital  for  treat- 
ment, and  another  was  taken  care  of  by  friends,  while  Mrs. 
Dolan  went  to  an  infant  asylum  for  confinement,  her  hus- 
band again  deserting  the  family  at  this  juncture.  After 


PARTTI  TYPICAL   RELIEF   PROBLEMS  225 

the  birth  of  the  child  aid  was  given  Mrs.  Dolan  to  take 
rooms  and  get  her  family  together.  A  year  later,  condi- 
tions being  practically  the  same,  Dolan  frequently  desert- 
ing his  family  and  failing  entirely  to  support  them,  and  his 
wife  refusing  to  prosecute  seriously,  the  home  was  broken 
up,  and  the  children  committed  for  improper  guardianship. 

Henderson,  William  and  Myrtle.  At  the  time  of  their 
application  the  family  was  living  in  well-furnished  and 
neat  rooms,  and  they  were  able  to  give  reference  from 
whom  a  favorable  account  was  obtained.  Henderson  was 
inclined  to  be  intemperate  but  was  intelligent  and  skilful. 
Relatives  were  found  who,  although  in  moderate  circum- 
stances, were  willing  to  help,  and  the  family  was  left  in 
their  care.  They  remained  self-supporting  for  seven  years, 
at  which  time  special  shoes  were  provided  for  George, 
a  crippled  boy.  The  father  at  this  time  was  earning  $8  a 
week. 

A  year  later  application  was  made  for  the  commitment 
of  three  children.  The  cause  of  the  trouble  was  found  to 
be  increased  intemperance  of  the  father,  who  was  then  idle. 
Relatives  again  aided.  The  Department  of  Public  Chari- 
ties secured  from  a  magistrate  an  order  requiring  Hender- 
son to  support  his  family.  He  was  induced  to  take  a  pledge 
of  total  abstinence  and  has  kept  it.  The  crippled  boy 
was  sent  to  a  state  institution  for  crippled  children,  and 
relief  was  supplied  to  move  the  family,  and  to  provide  for 
a  month's  rent  and  for  necessary  clothing.  Except  for  a 
serious  illness  from  typhoid,  the  family,  in  the  year  that 
has  elapsed  since  it  was  decided  not  to  commit  the  "three 
children  as  public  charges,  has  been  in  no  serious  trouble, 
and  relief  has  been  required  only  in  moderate  amount. 

Koern,  Edward  and  Elizabeth.  Aid  was  asked  origi- 
nally on  account  of  approaching  confinement  of  Mrs. 
Koern.  They  were  taken  in  charge  by  a  church,  which 
during  the  following  year  aided  frequently,  although  re- 
porting Mr.  Koern  as  drunken.  In  the  five  years  following, 
on  account  of  the  illness  of  the  wife  and  children,  the  fam- 
ily was  aided  also  by  a  relief  society,  Koern's  record  through- 
out being  that  of  intemperance  and  irregularity  at  work. 


226  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  n 

Two  of  the  children  were  placed  in  an  institution  by  the 
church,  but  were  taken  back  by  the  father.  Later,  appli- 
cation was  made  for  the  commitment  of  two  other  children, 
but  it  was  disapproved.  Mrs.  Koern  has  a  lame  foot  which 
frequently  incapacitates  her  for  work.  Mr.  Koern  now 
began  to  show  improvement,  and  was  earning  $15  to  $20 
a  month  caring  for  furnaces.  The  younger  children  were 
placed  in  a  day  nursery.  Mrs.  Koern  was  treated  by  a 
physician  and  a  district  nurse,  and  nourishing  food  was 
provided  for  her.  The  eldest  child  was  sent  regularly  to 
school,  and  for  the  last  two  years  of  the  record  Mr.  Koern 
had  regular  work  as  watchman  on  a  street  railway. 

Hardy,  Ferdinand,  twenty-one  years  of  age,  was  a  driver 
by  occupation,  strong,  very  intemperate,  and  on  that  account 
out  of  employment,  abusive  to  wife  and  children.  His  wife 
was  a  year  younger,  in  rather  delicate  health,  but  said  to 
be  a  good  mother.  Mrs.  Hardy  had  her  husband  arrested 
and  sentenced  to  six  months  for  non-support.  They  had 
been  married  for  five  years,  during  which  time  Hardy  had 
never  worked  more  than  two  or  three  months  at  a  time. 
His  relatives  were  abundantly  able  to  help  them,  but,  prob- 
ably because  of  earlier  discouraging  experiences,  allowed 
the  family  to  be  dispossessed  from  their  rooms.  On  being 
interviewed,  however,  Hardy's  mother  promised  to  assume 
the  care  of  the  family,  if  her  son  was  released,  not  other- 
wise. It  was  apparently  her  desire  that  her  son  should  be 
rid  of  his  family,  but  he  was  not  himself  inclined  to  de- 
sert them.  Mrs.  Hardy  secured  her  husband's  pardon,  the 
relatives  aided  them  to  start  in  new  rooms,  and  the  man 
went  to  work.  They  have  two  healthy,  attractive  children, 
but  both  parents  are  of  weak  character.  If  they  become 
entirely  estranged  from  their  wealthy  relatives,  or  if  the 
latter  lose  their  property,  the  family  is  likely  to  become 
chronically  dependent. 

Bruce,  Emily,  a  widow  who  appeared  not  to  be  in  need, 
but  who  applied  for  assistance,  was  found  in  an  apartment 
of  seven  rooms,  for  which  the  rent  was  forty-five  dollars  a 
month.  It  developed,  however,  that  Mrs.  Bruce  had  really 
been  living  on  a  sum  which  she  had  received  on  her  hus- 


PART  ii  TYPICAL  RELIEF  PROBLEMS  227 

band's  death  from  a  beneficial  society  to  which  he  had 
belonged.  She  had  taken  the  larger  apartment  in  the 
expectation  of  being  able  to  rent  rooms,  and  at  the  time 
of  the  visitor's  call  two  artists  were  in  fact  boarding  with 
her,  paying  together,  however,  only  eight  dollars  a  week 
for  their  board.  Her  sensible  suggestion  was  that  if  aided 
to  move  to  rooms  at  moderate  rent,  she  would  be  able  to 
support  herself  and  her  children  as  a  seamstress,  in  which 
occupation  she  had  had  experience. 

Bonner,  Thomas  and  Cora,  an  English  family,  were  in- 
vestigated at  the  request  of  a  national  relief  society,  to 
which  Mr.  Bonner  had  applied  for  assistance.  References 
were  favorable,  except  that  former  employers  in  London 
wrote  that  Mr.  Bonner  had  been  discharged  for  losing  time, 
and  it  was  found  that  he  was  addicted  to  drink.  English 
relatives  refused  to  give  assistance.  Mr.  Bonner  con- 
tinued to  drink,  and  abused  his  family.  Many  efforts 
were  made  to  reform  him  by  friendly  visitation  from 
churches  and  charitable  societies,  but  these  efforts  were 
unsuccessful,  and  about  two  years  after  the  first  applica- 
tion he  was  placed  under  arrest  for  disorderly  conduct 
and  abuse  of  family,  and  was  sentenced  for  one  month. 
Immediately  after  his  discharge  he  was  sentenced  to  a 
second  term  of  six  months. 

Mrs.  Bonner  supported  the  family  with  little  difficulty 
when  he  was  away,  and  did  not  wish  to  have  him  return. 
She  was  persuaded,  however,  to  receive  him  again,  and  he 
apparently  made  an  effort  to  reform.  In  the  following 
year  he  gave  further  evidence  of  this  desire  by  entering  a 
home  for  intemperate  men,  but  after  his  discharge  again 
succumbed  to  his  appetite.  A  son,  William,  refused  to 
stay  at  home  with  his  father,  who  several  times  reformed 
and  worked  well  for  a  time,  but  each  time  again  fell  away. 

The  friendly  visitor,  five  years  after  the  first  applica- 
tion, and  three  years  after  any  distinctly  unfavorable 
record,  reported  that  the  family  was  doing  well,  and  that 
Mr.  Bonner  had  remained  sober  for  nine  months. 

Jones,  John  and  Margaret.  John  is  an  able-bodied  man 
of  thirty,  a  printer  by  trade,  and  a  successful  operator  on 


228  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  n 

a  machine,  although  not  a  rapid  hand  compositor.  He 
had  been  for  ten  years  in  one  office,  but  had  left  it  to 
better  himself,  as  he  supposed,  in  another  city.  Not  being 
successful,  he  had  returned,  and  was  out  of  employment. 
There  were  four  small  children,  whom  the  parents  de- 
sired to  have  committed  to  an  institution.  The  magis- 
trate, to  whom  application  had  been  made,  refused  to 
commit  them,  on  the  ground  of  non-residence.  After 
many  conflicting  reports  and  unsuccessful  attempts  to 
start  the  family  on  a  basis  of  self-support,  it  was  finally 
ascertained  that  the  difficulty  lay  with  Mrs.  Jones.  Both 
man  and  wife  drank,  but  the  wife  was  the  more  intem- 
perate. Her  rooms  were  found  frequently  to  be  dirty, 
and  the  children  to  be  utterly  neglected,  although  at 
times  there  would  be  an  improvement,  and  the  children 
attended  a  private  school  irregularly.  The  family  was 
frequently  dispossessed  for  drunkenness  and  fighting,  and 
the  parents  were  known  to  have  used  vile  language  before 
the  children. 

The  man's  mother  confided  to  the  visitor  that  the  couple 
were  intoxicated  when  married,  although  she  did  not 
know  this  until  later.  The  wife  had  been  reared  a  Cath- 
olic, but  the  husband  was  of  a  Protestant  family,  and  it 
was  difficult  to  ascertain  whether  the  children  had  been 
christened  at  all,  and  if  so,  in  what  faith.  The  man  con- 
stantly borrowed  small  sums  of  money  in  various  direc- 
tions and  rarely  repaid.  His  mother  supplied  him  with 
the  money  necessary  for  his  union  fees  when  he  secured 
employment. 

After  a  little  more  than  two  years  of  persistent  effort 
to  reform  the  parents  and  to  secure  fair  treatment  of  the 
children,  the  attempt  was  given  up  as  a  failure,  and,  at  a 
time  when  the  family  had  been  dispossessed  and  the  fur- 
niture thrown  upon  the  street,  the  children  were  com- 
mitted to  an  asylum,  and  the  father  placed  under  an  order 
of  court  to  pay  for  their  maintenance.  The  family  had 
again,  in  the  meantime,  become  residents  of  the  city. 

We  have  not  yet  done  with  our  examples  of  intemper- 
ance. Those  that  follow  illustrate  in  addition  the  absence 
of  moral  qualities,  aside  from  intemperance,  and  also  illus- 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF  PROBLEMS  229 

trate  the  opportunities  which  arise  for  remedial  measures 
in  these  cases.  There  are  some  who  are  peculiarly  gifted 
for  the  moral  reformation  of  the  intemperate  and  the 
vicious,  and  to  all  who  have  this  gift  one  must  bid  a  "  God 
speed  "  in  their  efforts.  Material  relief  in  such  cases  as 
are  here  described,  however,  when  unaccompanied  by  dis- 
cipline, or  by  extraordinary  personal  influence,  seldom 
achieves  a  result  in  which  the  donor  can  take  satisfaction. 

Byrnes,  Sarah  and  Theophrastus.  Through  a  period 
of  ten  years  a  charitable  society  attempted  to  rehabilitate 
the  family  of  Theophrastus  and  Sarah  Byrnes.  This  man 
was  a  physician,  a  graduate  of  a  well-known  medical  col- 
lege, and  had  excellent  professional  qualities.  He  con- 
tracted the  morphine  habit,  however,  as  result  of  treatment 
after  an  accident,  and  has  gone  steadily  down  hill  ever 
since.  He  has  abandoned  his  family  and  is  living  with 
another  woman  (Mrs.  R.),  but  on  account  of  his  children 
his  wife  will  not  take  action  against  him.  The  woman 
with  whom  he  is  maintaining  relations  at  present  came 
from  a  good  family,  whose  members  feel  very  bitter  toward 
Dr.  Byrnes.  She  had  been  previously  married  and  has 
one  son,  and  both  mother  and  son  have  become  victims  of 
the  opium  habit. 

Many  efforts  have  been  made,  by  friends  and  by  physi- 
cians, to  reform  this  man.  He  has  been  a  voluntary 
inmate  of  three  institutions  for  treatment,  and  has  been 
given  excellent  opportunities  for  work  at  his  profession  — 
all,  however,  without  success.  Both  the  man  and  Mrs. 
R.,  probably  largely  because  of  their  use  of  opium,  have 
become  unreliable,  dishonest,  and  dissolute.  They  have 
had  charitable  aid  at  various  times,  in  the  form  of  gro- 
ceries, clothing,  rent,  tickets  for  night  lodgings,  etc. — all 
given  as  an  incentive  to  influencing  them  to  lead  a  different 
life,  but  without  permanent  success. 

Bender,  John  and  Bridget,  had  been  continually  apply- 
ing for  aid  in  rent,  food,  and  clothing  for  fourteen  years. 
On  one  occasion,  the  wife  being  in  the  almshouse,  John 
had  asked  for  shelter  of  some  kind  for  himself.  Their 
record  is  bad  —  laziness  on  the  one  side,  untruthfulness  on 


230  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  n 

the  other,  and  intemperance  on  both.  A  nurse  made  a 
report  that  he  was  suffering  from  varicose  veins  and 
needed  an  elastic  stocking ;  that  he  was  physically  unable 
to  do  any  work  that  would  require  standing ;  and,  more- 
over, that  he  was  subject  to  epileptic  fits,  and  was,  prac- 
tically, a  physical  and  nervous  wreck.  As  if  to  match 
his  condition,  Bridget,  the  wife,  had  a  repulsive  eruption 
on  her  face,  for  which,  at  the  time  of  this  report,  she 
was  being  treated  at  a  public  dispensary.  Their  account 
of  their  own  past  life  was  confused  and  unsatisfactory, 
neither  being  able  to  make  any  statement  as  to  the 
time  and  place  of  their  marriage  or  in  regard  to  their 
children. 

This  situation  is  presented,  not  as  an  example  of  a 
family  that  should  have  relief  at  home,  but  as  one  con- 
cerning whom  this  question  will  constantly  arise,  to  be 
decided  affirmatively  or  negatively.  It  is  safe  to  decide 
it  negatively  in  such  cases,  and  to  take  the  position  that 
the  children  should  be  removed  and  the  parents  separated 
for  hospital  or  permanent  institutional  care. 

Beaumais,  Marie.  A  very  different  case  is  that  of 
Marie  Beaumais,  who  is  related,  by  many  removes,  to  a 
woman  of  wealth  and  social  position.  This  distant  kins- 
woman, not  so  much  because  of  the  relationship  as  be- 
cause of  a  personal  friendship  for  this  woman's  mother, 
has  expressed  a  willingness  to  make  her  a  monthly  allow- 
ance, provided  she  will  cut  loose,  with  her  children,  from 
her  utterly  disreputable  and  worthless  husband.  He  has 
done  practically  nothing,  in  their  ten  years  of  married 
life,  except  to  squander  his  wife's  small  dowry  and  to 
live  upon  her  earnings.  Even  the  modest  homestead 
which  had  belonged  to  his  wife  has  gone  to  meet  princi- 
pal and  interest  of  a  mortgage  indebtedness.  She  is  not 
physically  strong,  and,  as  her  means  are  exhausted,  the 
absence  of  the  allowance  would  mean  the  commitment 
of  her  children  as  public  charges,  and  the  necessity  of 
supporting  herself  at  service  or  in  some  similar  manner. 
With  reluctance,  therefore,  and  with  many  assurances  to 
the  visitor  that  she  had,  personally,  no  ill-feeling  toward 
her  husband,  she  consented  to  a  legal  separation  on  the 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   BELIEF  PROBLEMS  231 

ground  of  non-support,  and  became  established  in  a  few 
rooms  with  her  children,  expecting  to  earn  whatever  is 
needed  for  their  support  over  and  above  the  allowance 
which  was  thus  secured. 

The  wisdom  of  this  conditional  offer  has  been  ques- 
tioned, and  such  a  harsh  word  as  "  hypocrisy  "  has  been 
used  to  describe  Marie's  acceptance  of  the  offer,  in  view 
of  her  husband's  not  infrequent  visits  to  her  and  her  chil- 
dren in  their  new  quarters,  and  her  own  expressions  of 
continued  affection  for  him;  but  her  attitude  is  really 
sufficiently  straightforward  to  satisfy  the  most  exacting. 
She  had  no  desire  to  be  separated  from  her  husband,  she 
had  no  fault  to  find  with  him,  —  at  least,  to  outsiders, — 
the  legal  action  was  but  an  empty  form  to  which  she 
agreed  as  the  only  condition  upon  which  an  income  which 
she  needed  could  be  secured. 

Jay,  John  and  Rachel,  applied  to  a  charitable  society 
twenty  years  ago,  but  no  necessity  for  relief  was  discov- 
ered. The  same  request  was  made  the  following  year. 
Mrs.  Jay  then  said  that  her  husband  had  deserted  her, 
which,  however,  was  found  to  be  untrue.  The  relief 
society  paid  rent  and  provided  groceries.  The  record 
then  has  a  blank  of  eleven  years,  which  will  readily  be 
filled  in  by  an  experienced  visitor,  by  unrecorded  appli- 
cations to  individuals,  churches,  and  societies,  rewarded 
by  occasional  success.  Application  was  then  made  to  a 
church  whose  visitor  offered  employment  to  a  grown  girl 
in  the  family,  which  was  refused.  It  is  pathetically  and 
briefly  recorded  that  all  aid  given  had  not  helped  the  family. 

The  housekeeper  at  the  house  in  which  the  family  had 
formerly  lived  said  that  they  had  been  dispossessed  for 
drunkenness  of  both  the  man  and  woman.  In  this  year 
the  relief  society  gave  relief  twice,  once  a  grant  being 
made  at  the  request  of  the  church.  The  head  of  the 
family  was  now  ill  and  needed  extra  nourishment.  He 
had,  however,  patented  a  window-sash,  which  a  clergyman 
arranged  to  place  upon  the  market. 

The  following  year  the  family  was  again  reported  for 
aid,  this  time  by  a  private  citizen  to  whom  they  had  ap- 
plied. The  husband  was  ill,  a  son  of  working  age  had 


232  PRINCIPLES   OF   BELIEF  PART  n 

irregular  employment,  and  the  daughter  to  whom  employ- 
ment had  previously  been  offered  was  out  of  work.  A 
loan  association  reported  that  a  loan  of  $50  had  been  made 
twice,  the  furniture  being  pledged  as  security.  Both 
loans  had  been  repaid,  but  the  second  under  compulsion. 
Two  years  later  a  third  church  asked  an  investigation, 
the  man  having  died  the  year  before.  The  housekeeper  at 
a  new  address  said  that  the  family  did  not  pay  debts  and 
spent  their  money  for  drink ;  that  the  boy  stole  lead  pipes 
from  the  house  and  cut  up  the  wardrobes  in  the  apart- 
ments for  fuel ;  that  the  family  had  lived  extravagantly 
for  a  time  on  the  man's  insurance.  Two  years  later  the 
unpromising  boy  had  regular  employment  at  $10  a  week, 
and  therefore  the  family  was  left  to  its  own  resources. 

Drake,  Samuel  and  Sarah.  After  relief  had  been  given 
a  few  times  significant  facts  in  the  previous  career  and  in 
the  ancestry  of  this  couple  began  to  come  to  light.  It 
was  found  that  Mrs.  Drake's  mother  had  been  insane,  and 
that  she  herself  had  been  led  astray  by  a  distant  relative, 
and  that  the  latter  was  father  of  the  eldest  child.  He 
had  placed  over  $500  in  a  savings  bank  to  her  credit. 
This  money,  with  the  earnings  of  both  man  and  wife,  had 
been  squandered  by  Drake.  He  was  a  gambler  and  was 
frequently  away  from  home  for  several  days  at  a  time. 
His  mother  was  living  in  an  apartment  house,  divorced 
from  her  husband,  who  was  also  a  gambler.  Drake's 
brother  had  paid  the  rent  of  the  family  through  an  entire 
winter  on  condition  that  he  should  not  annoy  them,  but 
reported  that  this  agreement  had  been  broken  and  rent 
was  discontinued. 

A  few  years  later  the  family  was  again  brought  to 
notice  by  the  report  of  a  lady  interested  in  rescue  work, 
who  said  that  she  had  herself  brought  up  Samuel  Drake, 
and  that  he  had  much  to  fight  against.  At  this  time  aid 
was  given  to  the  family  in  groceries,  clothing,  and  coal  to 
the  value  of  some  $90.  Five  months  later  it  was  neces- 
sary for  the  housekeeper  to  intervene  in  a  family  quarrel, 
in  which  the  man  was  beating  his  wife  and  using  language 
unfit  for  the  children  to  hear.  In  the  following  month, 
while  Mrs.  Drake  was  out,  her  husband  sold  all  of  the 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF  PROBLEMS  233 

furniture,  and  the  four  children  were  committed  to  an 
institution  for  lack  of  proper  guardianship.  One  week 
after  this  a  church  had  become  interested  in  the  family, 
and  reported  that  the  man  and  his  wife,  with  an  infant  who 
had  not  been  committed,  were  living  in  a  furnished  room. 

Grarrett,  John  and  Catharine,  were  first  brought  to  notice 
by  the  principal  of  a  primary  school,  who  found  the  children 
to  be  in  need  of  shoes.  The  family  was  aided  frequently 
by  two  private  citizens,  the  investigation  having  shown  at 
the  outset  a  fairly  creditable  record,  although  Mrs.  Gar- 
rett  was  eccentric,  and  the  eldest  boy,  Patrick,  frequently 
changed  his  work.  Two  daughters  were  in  an  institution 
for  children. 

Five  years  later  Garrett  was  ill,  but  refused  hospital 
treatment.  Patrick  ran  away  from  home,  was  found, 
and  sent  to  a  foster-family  by  the  Children's  Aid  Society. 
He  returned  with  money  supplied  by  his  mother,  and  was 
committed  to  an  institution.  A  relief  society  had  an 
unsatisfactory  experience  with  the  family.  Patrick  re- 
turned home  after  repeated  demands  by  his  mother  for 
his  discharge,  but  was  lazy  and  incorrigible.  Mr.  Garrett 
worked  irregularly,  but  the  family  was  inclined  to  rely 
on  others  for  all  the  help  that  it  was  possible  to  get. 
Mrs.  Garrett  was  admitted  to  a  hospital  and  had  a  slight 
surgical  operation. 

Ten  years  after  the  first  application  a  second  son, 
Andrew,  who  had  become  the  main  breadwinner  of  the 
family,  Avas  ill.  Patrick  enlisted  in  the  regular  arm}% 
and  the  family  had  become  known  to  two  agencies  formed 
for  the  purpose  of  aiding  soldiers  and  sailors.  Mrs.  Gar- 
rett was  housekeeper,  but  quarrelled  with  the  tenants,  and 
the  two  daughters,  who  had  formerly  been  in  an  institu- 
tion, were  at  home  and  working  occasionally.  The  deci- 
sion with  which  the  record  closes  records  that  the  family 
had  been  aided  too  much,  and  would  better  be  left  to  them- 
selves. 

Kelley,  Michael  and  Ann.  The  record  covers  a  period  of 
nine  years  with  an  interval  of  five  years.  At  the  time  of 
the  original  application  the  husband  was  lame  as  a  result 


234  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  n 

of  an  injury  from  a  railway  accident.  He  then  had  a 
reputation  for  intemperance  and  abusiveness.  He  was 
admitted  to  a  convalescent  home,  and  received  necessary 
surgical  care,  after  which  work  was  found  for  him  on  a 
street  railway.  The  wife  worked  irregularly  at  the  laundry, 
a  son  of  working  age  had  employment,  and  later  a  daughter 
went  out  to  domestic  service. 

On  the  next  application  for  assistance,  a  few  years  later, 
John,  who  had  previously  been  employed,  was  out  of  work, 
but  refused  woodyard  tickets.  The  daughter  at  service 
was  doing  well  except  that  she  occasionally  went  home  at 
night  and  remained  away  for  a  day  without  notice.  The 
whole  family  was  untruthful. 

Next  year  Mrs.  Kelley  slipped  on  the  stairs  and  broke 
her  arm  while  working  for  the  caretaker  of  a  wealthy 
man  in  a  house  that  was  otherwise  unoccupied  during  the 
summer  months.  Her  husband  insisted  that  she  should  sue 
the  owner,  although  she  had  no  valid  claim,  and  when  she 
refused,  he  abused  and  deserted  her.  John  also  refused  to 
support  his  mother.  The  owner  of  the  house  in  which  the 
accident  occurred  supported  Mrs.  Kelley  until  she  was  able 
to  work. 

A  few  weeks  afterward  John  was  found  in  her  rooms 
intoxicated.  Mrs.  Kelley  had  now  reached  the  age  limit 
at  which  she  might  have  been  admitted  to  a  home  if 
otherwise  a  suitable  candidate,  but  she  refused  to  consider 
any  such  suggestion,  and  in  any  case  she  could  probably 
have  been  sent  only  to  the  almshouse.  She  accepted  such 
employment  as  was  offered  her,  but  was  often  dispossessed 
for  drunkenness  and  disturbance  of  neighbors.  Annie 
gave  up  domestic  service  and  went  to  work  in  a  silk 
factory,  at  which  time  the  family  disappeared  from  notice 
and  nothing  more  has  been  heard  of  them. 

Dunn,  Edward  and  Caroline.  When  Dunn  called  at  the 
Application  Bureau,  at  the  suggestion  of  a  church,  he 
needed  work  and  general  assistance.  Investigation  showed 
the  family  to  be  drunken,  quarrelsome,  and  shiftless. 
Their  rooms  had  always  been  dirty  and  neglected.  Mrs. 
Dunn  had  previously  been  married  to  a  man  whom  she  at 
first  declared  to  have  been  killed  in  a  quarrel,  but  whom 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF  PROBLEMS  235 

she  later  said  that  she  had  sent  to  the  state  prison  for 
bigamy.  From  the  prison  authorities  it  was  learned  that 
he  had  been  twice  committed,  once  for  burglary,  and  once 
for  perjury.  Neither  the  father  nor  mother  was  disposed 
to  work  to  support  the  children.  One  child  was  at  the 
time  living  with  Mrs.  Dunn's  mother,  who  also  had  a 
record  of  dependence  under  various  aliases.  The  children 
should  have  been  removed  at  this  time  for  improper 
guardianship,  but  this  result  was  not  brought  about. 

About  three  years  later  Mrs.  Dunn  applied  for  the 
commitment  of  her  son,  stating  that  her  husband  had 
deserted  soon  after  her  former  application,  and  was  now 
living  in  a  suburb  with  a  married  daughter.  Later  he  was 
reported  to  be  an  inmate  of  the  almshouse  of  the  county 
in  which  the  suburb  is  located.  The  child  who  had  been 
with  the  grandmother  died  in  an  institution.  The  boy  for 
whom  she  now  desired  commitment  had  previously  been 
in  the  same  institution,  but  was  discharged  on  the  ground 
that  his  parents  could  support  him,  and  in  the  meantime 
his  mother  had  changed  his  name  to  Montmorency. 
Temporary  institutional  care  was  secured  for  Montmorency 
in  the  hope  that  Mrs.  Dunn  would  enter  a  hospital  for 
treatment,  which  she  later  refused  to  do.  She  agreed, 
however,  to  the  placing  out  of  her  child  for  adoption. 

Way,  Theodore.  Investigation  was  asked  by  a  private 
citizen,  to  whom  Mr.  Way  had  written,  saying  that  he  had 
been  arrested  and  was  in  the  "Tombs"  awaiting  trial.' 
The  complaint  was  that  of  passing  a  worthless  check, 
drawn  on  a  bank  which  was  found  not  to  exist.  Mr.  Way's 
story  was  that  he  had  had  business  relations  with  persons 
whom  he  supposed  to  be  reliable,  and  had  been  persuaded 
to  deposit  several  hundred  dollars  with  them.  He  later 
drew  upon  them  for  $50,  which  was  obtained  without  diffi- 
culty. He  had  then  given  a  few  checks  for  small  debts  to 
various  people,  but  before  these  had  been  heard  from  he 
was  asked  to  cash  their  check  for  $75.  Not  having  the 
money  he  indorsed  the  check  and  took  it  to  a  liquor  dealer, 
who  cashed  it.  It  was  this  check  which  had  been  returned 
as  worthless,  and  had  led  to  his  arrest.  Mr.  Way  claimed 
also  that  the  city  owed  him  $2000,  his  bill  having  been 


236  PRINCIPLES   OF   KELIEF  PART  n 

approved,  but  not  paid.  If  he  could  collect  this  money 
he  could  pay  the  liquor  dealor,  who  would  then  be  willing 
to  withdraw  the  charge. 

At  his  father's  death  Mr.  Way  had  inherited  a  large 
sum  of  money,  which  he  had  put  into  business  and  lost. 
His  mother  had  still  some  valuable  furniture,  which  had, 
however,  been  in  storage  for  some  time,  and  there  was 
now  danger  of  losing  it,  as  payments  were  in  arrears. 
He  had  but  one  near  relative,  an  uncle  who  was  a  man 
of  some  prominence  in  politics  and  otherwise.  This  uncle 
would  do  nothing  for  Mr.  Way,  but  was  induced  to  provide 
board  and  money  for  the  wife.  A  masonic  lodge,  to  which 
the  man  belonged,  also  contributed  for  her  support,  but 
would  do  nothing  for  Mr.  Way. 

Six  months  after  the  letter  had  been  received,  Mr.  Way 
was  tried  and  found  guilty ;  sentence,  however,  was  sus- 
pended, and  he  was  discharged  and  was  not  again  heard 
from.  His  wife,  for  the  following  year,  was  supported  by 
relatives,  who  made  their  contributions  for  this  purpose 
through  the  society. 

If  intemperance  and  other  moral  defects  can  seldom  be 
remedied  by  material  relief,  still  less  can  relief  cure  a 
strain  of  chronic  dependence.  Those  to  whom  begging 
presents  itself  as  the  easiest  solution  of  any  even  tem- 
porary embarrassment,  and  who  therefore  prefer  to  beg 
rather  than  work,  are  perhaps  of  all  dependents  the  most 
unresponsive  and  unhelpable.  While  a  few  illustrative 
instances  are  here  grouped  together,  it  must  be  under- 
stood, that  by  no  means  all  of  the  individuals  in  these 
families  are  representatives  of  the  begging  class.  Fami- 
lies do  not  differentiate  themselves  so  completely.  The 
beggar  is  joined  together  with  the  drunkard,  and  the 
honest,  industrious,  and  faithful  mother  may  find  herself 
cursed  by  a  brutal  husband  or  an  ungrateful  and  worth- 
less son.  The  following  instances  are  therefore  all  the 
more  typical  because  they  present  complications  both  of 
good  and  of  bad  qualities,  in  addition  to  the  strain  of  pau- 
perism which  appears  to  run  through  them. 

Patrick,  John  and  Anna.  A  church  worker,  several  of 
whose  earlier  cases  had  turned  out  to  be  different  from 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF   PROBLEMS  237 

what  the  worker  supposed  them  to  be,  but  who  had 
excused  the  misinformation  supplied  by  saying  that  the 
families  were  under  the  charge  of  associate  workers  and 
not  personally  known  to  the  one  who  had  referred  them, 
finally  wrote  as  follows  in  regard  to  a  family  for  whom  a 
supply  of  coal  was  requested  :  — 

"Mr.  Patrick  is  out  of  work.  They  were  found  sorely 
in  need.  A  respectable  couple  with  a  child  of  four  months. 
Everything  has  been  pawned  to  get  food.  Plenty  of  room 
for  coal.  We  are  furnishing  temporary  aid  in  groceries. 
They  have  only  one  quilt  on  bed  for  their  covering.  No 
blankets.  Everything  has  been  pawned.  Mrs.  Patrick's 
health  is  run  down  so  that  the  baby  has  not  had  proper 
nourishment.  It  is  a  worthy  case,  and  I  am  glad  I  have 
the  case  under  my  personal  supervision  and  attention. 
Mr.  Patrick,  I  fear,  has  consumption.  His  cough  seems 
suspicious.  A  bag  of  coal  which  I  ordered  will  be  suffi- 
cient until  to-morrow,  and  I  would  much  appreciate  an 
early  delivery  of  coal  to  this  couple  of  good  habits." 

A  visitor  called  at  the  address  given,  and  Mrs.  Patrick 
repeated  the  statement  made  in  the  letter  which  had 
been  received.  She  said  that  her  husband  was  consump- 
tive and  unable  to  do  any  work;  that  she  herself  has  a 
father  and  sister  living,  but  that  Mr.  Patrick  has  no  rela- 
tives in  the  world.  Mrs.  Patrick  was  unable  to  explain 
why  she  was  receiving  aid  from  a  church  of  a  different 
denomination  from  that  to  which  she  said  that  she  and 
her  husband  belonged,  and  in  various  ways  she  impressed 
the  visitor  that  she  had  not  been  entirely  straightforward 
and  truthful  in  her  statements.  The  usual  inquiries  were 
made  at  one  or  two  houses  in  which  the  Patricks  had  for- 
merly lived,  and  at  one  of  these  the  housekeeper  referred 
the  visitor  to  a  tenant  who  had  lived  in  the  house  for 
some  time,  and  therefore  probably  knew  the  Patricks. 
This  woman  said  that  she  knew  the  Patricks  well  ;  that 
Mr.  Patrick  had  lived  there  with  his  mother  before  his 
marriage  ;  that  he  had  been  most  brutal  in  his  treatment 
of  his  old  mother  ;  had  beaten  her  regularly,  and  was 
continually  bringing  into  the  house  disreputable  women 
from  the  street ;  that  there  was  another  woman  living  in 
the  neighborhood  who  claimed  to  have  been  married  to 


238  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  n 

Patrick,  and  that  finally  he  had  been  requested  to  leave 
the  house  because  of  his  behavior ;  that  the  woman  with 
whom  he  was  now  living,  known  as  Mrs.  Patrick,  had 
been  with  him  only  a  short  time  before  his  removal,  but 
that  in  this  time  he  had  beaten  her  frequently,  on  one 
occasion  making  it  necessary  for  her  to  call  in  the  police. 
This  tenant  believed  that  he  was  not  a  drinking  man,  but 
that  he  was  thoroughly  lazy  and  worthless ;  that  he  was 
strong  and  well  and  able  to  work,  but  that  he  had  always 
been  able  to  find  some  woman  who  would  support  him. 

Mrs.  Patrick's  sister,  who  was  next  seen,  professed  to 
know  nothing  at  all  about  Mr.  Patrick,  but  on  being  ques- 
tioned as  to  the  identity  of  a  little  child  in  the  room,  who 
called  her  "auntie,"  admitted  that  she  had  still  another 
sister,  but  she  asked  the  visitor  not  to  go  to  see  her,  as 
she  was  not  on  good  terms  with  the  Patricks,  and  might 
say  something  unkind. 

The  visitor,  however,  called  upon  the  mother  of  the 
child,  in  whom  she  found  a  woman  who  was  not  afraid  to 
tell  the  truth,  and  who  knew  the  facts.  She  fully  con- 
firmed the  story  of  the  tenant  at  the  address  previously 
visited.  She  declared  her  brother-in-law  to  be  a  strong 
young  man  without  a  trace  of  consumption ;  able  to  obtain 
employment,  but  unwilling  to  work  ;  of  good  appearance 
and  plausible  manner.  She  informed  the  visitor  that  at 
the  time  of  her  call  Patrick  had  doubtless  been  concealed 
in  the  adjoining  room,  and  for  this  reason  his  wife  had 
not  dared  to  »ay  anything  derogatory  about  him.  Patrick 
was  further  described  as  a  man  of  very  dangerous  charac- 
ter, who  had  frequently  threatened  to  stick  a  knife  into 
any  one  who  interfered  with  him. 

The  father  of  Mrs.  Patrick  and  the  informant  happened 
to  be  in  the  room  at  the  time  of  this  conversation,  and 
confirmed  everything  that  his  daughter  had  said,  express- 
ing, however,  a  fear  of  what  Mr.  Patrick  might  do  if  he 
learned  that  they  had  told  the  truth  about  him.  The 
visitor  thereupon  promptly  returned  to  the  rooms  of  the 
Patrick  family,  and  questioned  Mrs.  Patrick  again  as  to 
her  husband's  relatives  and  his  character.  Mrs.  Patrick 
quickly  became  terrified  at  this  line  of  questioning ;  in- 
sisted that  her  husband  was  a  frail,  delicate  little  man, 


PART  ii  -     TYPICAL   RELIEF  PROBLEMS  239 

and  that  he  was  not  at  the  time  at  home.  On  being  ques- 
tioned directly  as  to  whether  he  was  not  in  the  next  room, 
listening  to  the  present  conversation,  she  protested  that 
this  was  not  the  case,  and  attempted  to  prevent  the  vis- 
itor's opening  the  door  to  look  for  herself.  The  visitor 
opened  the  door,  however,  into  the  adjoining  room,  where 
Mr.  Patrick  was  found  seated  on  the  edge  of  the  bed.  On 
being  addressed  by  name  he  sprang  to  his  feet  with  many 
oaths,  turned  violently  upon  his  wife,  telling  her  that  he 
had  told  her  never  to  tell  a  lie ;  denied  that  he  was  con- 
sumptive ;  and  declared  that  he  was  perfectly  able  to  care 
for  his  wife  and  child  without  charity ;  that  he  did  not 
wish  charity,  and  had  never  asked  for  it.  He  inquired 
of  his  wife  in  a  very  threatening  manner  whether  he  had 
ever  laid  a  hand  on  her,  and  the  poor  wife,  frightened 
almost  to  death,  replied  that  he  had  always  been  a  good, 
kind  husband. 

Mr.  Patrick  was  described  by  the  visitor  as  being  well 
dressed,  apparently  able  bodied,  stout  and  thick  set,  with 
no  trace  of  consumption,  but  with  a  slight  cough,  which 
he  himself  described  as  a  cigarette  cough. 

Williams,  John  and  Eliza.  Twenty  years  ago  an  in- 
vestigation was  asked  by  a  relief  association  connected 
with  a  church,  who  felt  that  the  family  was  becoming 
dependent.  Williams  was  a  skilled  workman  able  to  sup- 
port his  family.  In  the  following  year  five  agencies  asked 
for  information,  and  it  was  obvious  that  Williams,  although 
able  to  support  his  family,  was  quite  willing  to  be  sup- 
ported by  outside  aid. 

Four  years  later  the  association  which  first  asked 
about  the  family  reported  that  Mrs.  Williams  was  un- 
truthful and  unreliable,  that  it  was  her  habit  to  appeal 
to  sympathy  by  showing  a  sore  limb.  Morris,  a  crippled 
boy,  was  the  only  wage-earner  in  the  family,  his  father 
being  idle.  The  church  which  had  assisted  refused  fur- 
ther aid,  but  three  years  later  this  church  again  asked  in- 
vestigation, at  which  time  it  was  learned  that  the  income 
of  the  family,  partly  from  charitable  sources,  was  about 
$65  a  month. 

After  a  lapse  of   another  two   years,  two   more  char- 


240  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  n 

itable  agencies  had  become  interested.  The  eldest  daugh- 
ter, whose  name  had  not  previously  been  given,  had 
married  a  theatrical  manager,  who  aided  the  family  at 
intervals.  The  children  had  been  taught  to  ask  aid  from 
different  sources.  The  two  agencies  that  had  first  come 
into  contact  with  the  family  had  now  dropped  them 
entirely,  while  another  relief  society  reported  that  the 
family  had  actually  refused  aid  from  them. 

In  the  following  year,  a  Roman  Catholic  and  a  Scotch 
Presbyterian  church  reported  the  family,  but  Mrs.  Will- 
iams, when  visited,  insisted  that  the}r  were  in  no  need  of 
help.  Two  years  later  another  and  final  inquiry  came 
from  the  relief  agency,  whose  secretary  had  said,  fifteen 
years  before,  that  she  feared  that  the  family  was  becoming 
dependent. 

Jennings,  Charles  and  Victorine.  Mr.  Jennings  had 
been  a  broker  in  Wall  Street,  and  had  failed  in  business. 
He  came  of  a  family  described  as  very  respectable.  Mrs. 
Jennings  asked  for  a  loan  of  $  100  to  help  her  husband 
properly  place  an  invention  which  he  had  patented.  She 
would  give  no  definite  statement,  however,  nor  any  ad- 
dress at  which  she  could  be  visited.  It  was  later  re- 
ported that  she  was  going  in  and  out  of  business  offices, 
probably  begging.  Nothing  more  was  heard  of  the  family 
for  six  years.  They  were  then  reported  by  a  private 
citizen  as  in  need  of  aid,  and  they  applied  also  themselves 
at  the  society's  office.  Mr.  Jennings's  three  brothers,  on 
request,  provided  what  relief  was  necessary.  Five  years 
later  a  church  was  aiding,  although  the  family  was  known 
to  them  under  an  assumed  name.  The  patent  had  been 
sold  for  1200.  A  pension  was  received  by  the  couple 
from  a  home  for  aged  persons,  and  the  church  continued 
its  care  of  the  family. 

Madison,  Henry  and  Martha.  Mr.  Madison  asked 
assistance,  money  brought  from  Virginia  having  been 
exhausted.  He  states  his  occupation  to  be  that  of  writer 
and  genealogist  and  gives  satisfactory  references.  At  pre- 
vious addresses  it  was  found  that  they  have  left  a  some- 
what distinguished  impression,  in  spite  of  the  fact  that 


PART  ii  .     TYPICAL   RELIEF   PROBLEMS  241 

they  have  often  left  their  rooms  when  in  arrears  for  rent, 
and  in  spite  of  the  fact  that  they  have  five  dogs  which 
annoyed  the  neighbors  and  destroyed  the  furniture.  Mrs. 
Madison  is  very  haughty  and  eccentric,  and  can  be  seen 
only  at  her  entire  convenience.  She  would  not  see  a  phy- 
sician when  ill.  Both  Mr.  and  Mrs.  Madison  are  of  dis- 
tinguished ancestry — the  latter  an  adopted  daughter  of  a 
prominent  citizen  of  Baltimore.  She  took  an  active  part 
in  aiding  Confederate  soldiers  during  the  war.  The  fam- 
ily writes  begging  letters  to  distant  relatives  and  to  per- 
sons having  some  acquaintance  with  their  family,  often 
giving  false  addresses  and  assumed  names.  Aid  was  given 
to  the  family  by  a  relief  society,  on  account  of  illness. 

Hogan,  Jane,  is  a  widow  with  a  daughter,  actress  and 
playwright,  and  a  son  a  clerk.  Mrs.  Hogan  called  at  the 
suggestion  of  the  editors  of  a  daily  newspaper,  presenting 
a  letter  from  a  friend  in  Cincinnati  describing  the  condi- 
tion of  her  son  Charles,  who  was  ill  and  in  apparent  need  of 
his  mother's  care.  On  the  following  day,  however,  a  let- 
ter was  received  indicating  that  the  son  was  better,  and 
Mrs.  Hogan  decided  not  to  go  to  him,  but  asked  assistance 
in  securing  employment  for  herself  and  daughter. 

In  a  short  time  the  family  removed  to  an  unknown  ad- 
dress, but  appeared  again  after  an  interval  of  eleven  years, 
at  which  time  the  son  was  seeking  employment  as  assistant 
stage  manager,  and  the  daughter  Lillian  had  given  up  act- 
ing, and  was  then  writing  plays.  She  was  also  an  "  expert 
typewriter."  She  had  been  cheated  out  of  royalties,  and, 
owing  to  her  brother's  illness,  all  the  savings  of  the  family 
had  been  expended.  The  mother  had  been  working  as 
seamstress  for  actresses,  but  was  unable  at  the  moment 
to  obtain  any  such  work.  She  could  also  do  plain  dress- 
making, and  asked  aid  in  this  direction.  The  family  was 
paying  $25  a  month  rent,  and  was  dependent  upon  what 
was  earned  from  day  to  day  for  expenses.  This  informa- 
tion was  set  forth  in  a  letter  addressed  to  a  lady  of  large 
means,  who  requested  investigation,  and  the  statements 
were  corroborated. 

Eight  months  later  a  similar  request  was  received  from 
another  multimillionnaire  to  whom  an  application  had 


242  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  n 

been  made,  and  on  being  visited  Mrs.  Hogan  said  that  for 
nearly  a  year  she  had  had  almost  no  income,  and  her  son 
had  been  idle  for  two  years,  and  had  been  blind,  although 
as  a  result  of  an  operation  he  was  now  able  to  see  a  little. 
Lillian  had  dramatized  two  novels,  which  had  secured  her 
an  income  of  $100  a  week,  although  she  had  had  to  pay 
large  commissions.  Mrs.  Hogan  was  earning  five  dollars 
a  week  making  kimonos.  She  had  secured  three  loans  on 
her  furniture,  afterwards  converted  into  a  single  loan  of 
$75.  The  daughter  had  also  borrowed  various  sums,  $45 
to  $50  at  a  time,  and  $20  worth'  of  clothing  had  been 
pawned.  Her  present  request  had  been  for  a  loan  of 
about  $200  from  which  to  repay  other  creditors,  but  there 
was  no  definite  assurance  that  this  loan  could  be  repaid, 
or  that  it  would  leave  the  family  with  any  adequate 
means  of  support. 

Mrs.  Hogan  at  this  time  was  described  as  very  quiet 
and  refined  in  manner,  personally  attractive,  with  white 
hair  and  delicate  appearance.  There  were  a  great  many 
pretty  ornaments  and  pictures  in  the  apartment,  and  the 
rooms  were  artistically  furnished.  There  were  oranges  on 
the  sideboard,  and  no  signs  of  destitution.  At  an  earlier 
address  it  was  ascertained  that  the  family  had  been  dispos- 
sessed, for  the  reason  that,  although  they  paid  the  rent 
promptly,  Mrs.  Hogan  always  insisted  on  many  alterations 
and  repairs  each  time  that  the  rent  was  paid.  Although 
quiet,  and  otherwise  desirable  tenants,  they  were  "fussy." 

It  was  ascertained  that  the  Actor's  Fund  had  not  aided 
the  family.  A  gentleman  who  had  been  instrumental  in 
placing  Lillian's  dramatizations,  and  who  had  advanced 
money  to  her,  was  interviewed.  This  gentleman  repudi- 
ated the  idea  that  he  was  in  any  way  charitably  inclined, 
or  that  he  was  personally  interested  in  this  family.  He 
insisted  that  it  was  a  good  business  investment  to  loan 
them  money.  He  had  found  it  profitable  personally  to 
make  advances,  and  he  expected  that  it  would  continue 
to  be  profitable.  At  the  time  of  the  interview  Lillian 
owed  him  $95,  half  of  which,  however,  was  secured  by 
royalties.  His  books  showed  that  $1400  had  been  paid  to 
her  at  various  times  during  1900,  in  sums  ranging  from 
$45  to  $95,  and  in  the  year  following,  $700.  He  had  re- 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF   PROBLEMS  243 

cently  been  annoyed  by  receiving  long,  fulsome  letters  of 
thanks  from  Mrs.  Hogan,  not  asking  for  help,  but  hinting 
that  they  were  having  a  hard  time.  To  these  he  paid  no 
attention. 

Blockley,  Matilda,  widow,  and  her  daughter  Victoria, 
have  been  known  through  a  period  of  five  years.  Both 
mother  and  daughter  were  high  tempered,  and  quarrelled 
so  frequently  and  violently  that  they  were  often  obliged 
to  move.  They  begged  assistance  from  all  available 
sources.  The  mother  refused  to  do  any  work,  and  the 
daughter  accepted  only  what  pleased  her  fancy,  and  re- 
tained no  position  long  because  of  her  inefficiency.  She 
had  a  fairly  good  voice,  and  insisted  that  means  should 
be  provided  for  training  that  she  might  go  upon  the  oper- 
atic stage.  She  had  sung  in  the  chorus  of  several  church 
choirs,  and  claimed  to  have  taken  lessons  of  a  prominent 
musician,  which,  however,  the  latter  denied. 

Mrs.  Blockley  admitted  that  she  had  relatives  in  Ger- 
many who  had  sent  her  money,  but  refused  to  give  their 
addresses.  One  church  worker  reported  the  family  as 
"  first-class  beggars,"  and  seven  Protestant  churches,  one 
Catholic  church,  one  physician,  two  daily  newspapers,  the 
Department  of  Public  Charities,  and  a  hospital,  had  occa- 
sion to  make  inquiries  about  them.  No  improvement  in 
the  family  was  accomplished,  and  the  record  closes  with 
Mrs.  Blockley's  death. 

Doyer,  George  and  Clara.  This  record  covers,  with  some 
intervals,  a  period  of  sixteen  years.  Originally  Mr.  Doyer 
asked  assistance  in  getting  work.  Inquiry  showed  that 
they  were  improvident.  They  were,  however,  aided  by 
four  different  agencies,  besides  receiving  free  coal  each  win- 
ter from  the  city.  Seven  years  after  the  first  application 
the  family  was  referred  by  a  private  citizen,  who  had  given 
them  aid.  Mr.  Doyer  was  then  described  by  references  as 
a  good  workman,  although  it  was  found  on  a  closer  inves- 
tigation that  he  had  worked  only  irregularly,  and  was 
somewhat  addicted  to  drink.  One  child,  said  to  be  blind, 
had  been  treated  at  a  dispensary,  and  Mrs.  Doyer's  mar- 
ried sister  was  aiding  the  family.  The  eldest  daughter, 


244  PKINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  n 

who  had  been  in  an  institution,  was  brought  home  to  care 
for  the  children,  while  her  father  and  mother  worked. 

A  younger  brother  and  sister  were  arrested  in  the  fol- 
lowing year  for  selling  papers  at  night.  This  led  to  much 
newspaper  publicity  and  offers  of  aid  for  the  family  from 
various  directions. 

A  few  years  later  another  private  citizen  reported  the 
family  and  in  the  same  year  Mr.  Doyer  died,  leaving  insur- 
ance amounting  to  $1000  or  11500.  The  blind  boy,  Will- 
iam, was  attending  day  classes  at  the  blind  asylum.  Soon 
afterwards,  Mrs.  Doyer,  whose  morality  was  questioned  by 
her  neighbors,  married,  and  her  new  husband  committed 
suicide  within  six  months. 

Two  years  later,  still  bearing  the  name  of  Doyer,  she 
applied  for  aid,  and  it  was  found  that  at  this  time  two 
relief  societies  and  a  settlement  were  interested.  The  two 
daughters  who  have  been  referred  to,  now  both  married, 
refused  to  help  their  mother  because  of  her  improper  life. 

William  had  been  dismissed  from  the  asylum  "as  not 
needing  special  instruction,  as  he  could  see,  and  as  he 
was  incorrigible."  Mrs.  Doyer  was  offered  work  in  the 
laundry,  but  she  refused  it. 

Ringole,  Emma,  a  blind  woman,  has  received  the  annual 
pension  from  the  city  for  eight  years,  and  her  parents 
were  known  to  have  received  aid  for  more  than  twenty. 
Until  the  death  of  Emma's  mother  one  demented  brother 
remained  at  home  with  her,  and  another,  also  insane,  was 
an  inmate  of  a  state  hospital.  The  father,  although 
worthless  and  intemperate,  earned  a  little  as  light  care- 
taker in  a  church. 

Seven  years  after  the  first  indication  of  dependence  a 
married  daughter  was  giving  two  dollars  a  week  for  the 
support  of  the  family,  while  Mrs.  Ringole's  sister,  living 
in  another  state,  a  charitable  society,  and  two  benevolent 
ladies  were  each  giving  five  dollars  a  month.  Clothing 
was  provided  by  private  individuals. 

Emma,  besides  receiving  the  blind  pension,  gave  each 
year  a  public  concert,  sending  out  tickets  in  advance 
accompanied  by  begging  letters.  The  relief  society,  after 
aiding  for  a  time,  became  convinced  that  relief  was  prov- 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF  PROBLEMS  245 

ing  harmful  to  the  family.  After  the  mother's  death  the 
letters  accompanying  the  concert  tickets  continued  to  say 
that  the  writer  was  supporting  her,  as  well  as  the  imbecile 
brothers,  who  were  in  fact  in  the  state  hospital.  One  of 
the  private  donors  announced  that  she  had  provided  for 
Emma,  and  that  no  more  begging  letters  would  be  sent, 
but  they  continued  uninterruptedly. 

Muchmore,  William  and  Sarah.  Mrs.  Muchmore  was 
known  to  a  charitable  society  eighteen  years  ago,  at  which 
time  she  was  aided  with  groceries.  Later  her  first  husband 
died,  and  she  remarried. 

The  record  for  the  family  for  the  years  following  is 
a  series  of  evictions  for  non-payment  of  rent  and  other 
reasons.  Mrs.  Muchmore  had  found  this  a  good  oppor- 
tunity to  beg,  placing  herself  and  children  with  the  furni- 
ture in  the  street,  and  thereby  attracting  the  sympathy 
of  passers-by.  Mrs.  Muchmore's  story  to  such  sympa- 
thizers was  that  her  husband  had  deserted,  or  that  he  was 
looking  for  work.  In  reality  he  was,  however,  usually 
visiting  the  newspaper  offices,  enlisting  the  interest  of  the 
press  in  the  wider  publication  of  their  pitiable  condition. 
Much  assistance  was  received  by  these  methods,  and  the 
family  lived  well.  They  were  frequently  dispossessed  for 
drunkenness  and  fighting,  as  well  as  for  immorality. 

Through  the  intervention  of  a  private  society  the  three 
children  were  committed  to  an  institution.  The  family 
passed  under  numerous  aliases,  were  known  to  many 
charitable  agencies  and  churches,  and  were  often  estab- 
lished in  new  rooms,  and  their  rent  paid.  Mr.  Much- 
more  used  a  few  wood-yard  tickets,  but  he  was  frequently 
arrested  for  assault  and  disorderly  conduct,  and  at  various 
times  imprisoned.  Mrs.  Muchmore's  father  was  a  begging 
pedler,  and  lived  with  her.  Her  sister,  who  had  several 
aliases,  lived  an  immoral  life,  arid  aided  in  the  general 
begging  schemes.  When  Mrs.  Muchmore  was  not  dispos- 
sessed, she  was  usually  begging  in  the  street  with  a  baby, 
often  under  pretence  of  selling  pencils.  Mrs.  Muchmore's 
grandfather  was  shiftless,  and  of  no  help  to  the  family. 

Mrs.  Muchmore  was  finally  arrested  and  committed  to 
the  workhouse  for  three  months.  Her  husband  disap- 


246  PKINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  n 

peared,  in  fear  of  arrest,  but  later  requested  news  of  the 
children,  when  it  was  found  that  he  had  given  a  false 
address. 

De  Vaudremont,  Felix,  a  political  exile,  of  the  French 
nobility,  had  exhausted  his  means,  and  was  at  the 
time  of  application  teaching  French.  He  had  received 
assistance  from  several  private  individuals,  and  now  re- 
quested aid  in  securing  pupils. 

Nine  months  later  the  family  was  referred  to  a  chari- 
table agency  by  a  private  citizen  who  had  aided.  M.  de 
Vaudremont  had  been  librarian  at  a  denominational  club, 
but  was  dismissed  for  inefficiency.  Two  hundred  and 
fifty  dollars  had  been  given  him  with  which  to  return  to 
France,  but  this  he  had  later  refused  to  do.  He  is 
something  of  a  geologist  and  botanist,  and  the  valuable 
collection  which  he  had  made  in  his  travels  was  gradually 
disposed  of  to  meet  expenses.  A  son,  Henri,  was  a  stamp 
and  coin  expert,  and  made  a  little  money  in  this  direction, 
and  also  by  doing  some  clerical  work,  but  he  was  nearly 
blind.  One  daughter,  Louise,  was  blind,  and  at  one  time 
received  the  city  blind  pension,  but  this  had  been  discon- 
tinued, as  her  father  refused  treatment  for  her,  whereupon 
he  had  written  a  letter  of  protest  to  the  governor  of  the 
state.  Another  daughter,  Madeline,  was  not  allowed  to 
do  any  work  except  to  give  occasional  French  lessons,  and 
any  other  ambitions  of  his  children  were  repressed.  M.  de 
Vaudremont  insisted  upon  living  in  high-priced  apart- 
ments, and  in  having  his  rent  supplied  by  friends  and 
charitable  societies.  He  had  received  aid  from  a  national 
society,  as  well  as  other  private  societies,  a  church,  and 
several  private  individuals.  By  some  he  was  thought  to 
be  demented,  as  his  idea  was  that  he  was  being  persecuted. 
At  one  time  he  had  been  summoned  to  court  on  a  charge 
of  libel  made  against  him  by  the  almoner  of  a  society 
which  had  aided  him. 

Six  years  later,  when  visited,  the  family  had  received 
money  from  France,  and  did  not  need  other  assistance. 

Blake,  G-race.  Until  she  was  eighteen  years  old  Grace 
Blake  lived  with  her  father  and  mother  and  sisters  in  a 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF  PROBLEMS  247 

little  English  hamlet.  The  father  was  a  hard-working 
stoker  on  canal-boats,  and  the  family  apparently  honest 
and  decent.  When  Grace  was  eighteen,  an  older  sister, 
who  had  married  and  was  living  in  America,  made  a  visit 
to  her  old  home.  She  found  that  Grace  caused  anx- 
iety to  her  parents  on  account  of  her  general  disobedi- 
ence and  her  habit  of  "being  out  nights,"  and  offered  to 
take  her  back  with  her  to  America,  in  the  hope  that  new 
surroundings  would  have  a  favorable  influence.  For  six 
years  Grace  made  her  home  with  this  sister,  taking  a  posi- 
tion at  service  from  time  to  time,  but  never  staying  long  in 
one  place.  Finally  she  stopped  going  back  to  the  sister  or 
even  writing  to  her,  and  the  sister,  being  a  poor  woman 
with  four  small  children,  living  in  a  small  Long  Island  town, 
lost  track  of  her  until  she  learned  from  a  relief  society  that 
a  former  employer  of  Grace's  had  taken  her  to  the 
society. 

She  was  a  very  small,  slight  girl,  pale  and  thin,  and,  to 
all  appearances,  of  a  childlike  innocence.  Though  twenty- 
one  years  old  she  looked  not  more  than  fifteen.  She  was 
not  strong  enough  to  do  heavy  household  work  and  was 
much  below  the  average  in  intelligence.  Her  employers 
generally  found  her  quiet  and  docile,  but  with  no  memory, 
and  sometimes  in  a  dazed  condition.  In  her  sister's 
home  and  in  a  home  for  the  friendless,  in  which  she  was 
placed  later,  she  was  stubborn  and  disobedient,  quiet,  but 
wholly  uncontrollable. 

Soon  after  her  first  application  for  assistance  she  became 
ill,  and  found  care  in  a  hospital  from  which  she  was  sent 
to  a  home  for  girls.  She  did  well  here  for  a  few  weeks  in 
the  cooking  and  sewing  classes,  and  in  her  general  con- 
duct, but  soon  became  unmanageable.  At  the  end  of  five 
months  she  left  the  home  on  pretext  of  going  to  the  society 
to  which  she  had  applied  originally.  It  was  learned  later, 
through  a  letter  from  a  probation  officer  to  her  sister,  that 
she  was  in  the  workhouse.  She  had  been  found  in  a  vacant 
lot  with  a  number  of  men  in  the  middle  of  the  night,  and 
committed  for  three  months  as  a  disorderly  person.  At 
this  point  communication  with  her  relatives  in  England 
was  established  through  the  offices  of  the  charity  organi- 
zation society  nearest  the  village  in  which  they  lived. 


248  PRINCIPLES  OF  BELIEF  PART  n 

The  old  father  and  mother  were  found  to  be  anxious  to 
get  Grace  back,  and  a  sister  contributed  toward  the  ex- 
penses of  the  journey.  Arrangements  were  made  with  the 
Salvation  Army  to  look  after  her  when  she  was  discharged, 
and  with  a  society  especially  interested  in  English  women 
and  girls  to  provide  for  her  journey  home.  The  date  for 
sailing  was  set,  but  unfortunately  she  had  a  serious  illness 
after  leaving  the  workhouse,  and  was  obliged  to  spend 
several  weeks  in  hospitals.  As  soon  as  she  was  able  to 
travel,  however,  the  postponed  plan  was  carried  out.  She 
was  received  at  the  home  from  which  she  had  run  away 
six  months  before  for  a  few  days  of  rest  and  convales- 
cence, a  suitable  wardrobe  was  gotten  together  from  sev- 
eral sources,  and  her  sister  and  a  representative  of  the 
society  saw  her  on  board  the  boat.  The  sister  also  sent  15 
to  the  old  father  to  enable  him  to  meet  Grace  in  Liverpool. 
Word  was  received  from  the  English  charity  organization 
society  referred  to  above  that  he  had  been  there  to  meet 
the  boat  and  take  her  home.  A  letter  written  after  Grace 
had  been  at  home  several  weeks  states  that  she  is  sur- 
rounded by  kindness,  and  that  although  she  is  sometimes 
restless  she  is  growing  more  contented.  The  case  is  of 
interest  not  only  because  of  the  satisfactory  outcome  con- 
sidering its  difficulties  but  because  of  the  cooperation 
required  from  such  a  variety  of  agencies. 

Greenwood,  Arthur  H.  Mr.  Greenwood,  at  the  age  of 
sixty-eight,  with  a  prosperous  early  life  to  look  back  upon, 
is  unable  to  support  himself  and  his  wife.  Gradually  he 
has  lost  his  standing  with  the  stock  brokers  and  bankers 
who  formerly  made  up  his  business  circle,  and  for  years 
he  has  been  a  curbstone  broker  of  no  reputation.  Accord- 
ing to  his  relatives  he  "  has  at  all  times  burned  the  candle 
at  both  ends"  and  "has  been  subject  to  all  vices."  He 
has  a  physical  disability  which  unfits  him  for  hard  work, 
and  he  is  familiar  with  nothing  outside  his  old  business. 
He  speculates  whenever  he  can  get  his  hands  on  any  money. 
Recently  he  was  engaged  in  a  transaction  of  doubtful 
character  which  he  feared  might  get  him  in  prison. 

Mrs.  Greenwood  is  ten  years  younger  than  her  husband. 
She  is  a  nervous,  hysterical,  dependent  woman,  with  an 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF  PROBLEMS  249 

attractive  manner.  There  are  two  children  by  a  former 
marriage.  Both  are  married  and  live  in  towns  near  by. 

When  a  few  weeks  ago  Mr.  Greenwood  applied  to  his 
children  and  other  relatives  for  aid  in  keeping  him  out  of 
prison,  the  son,  the  daughter's  husband,  and  a  well-to-do 
nephew  formed  themselves  into  a  committee  to  provide 
for  his  needs.  They  are  actuated  chiefly  by  family  pride 
and  a  desire  to  protect  his  children  and  grandchildren, 
rather  than  any  other  motive.  They  asked  a  charitable 
society  to  act  as  their  intermediary  —  investigating  the 
case  to  find  what  ought  to  be  done,  and  drawing  upon 
them  for  the  necessary  funds,  but  keeping  their  identity 
secret.  They  were  ready  to  undertake  permanent  re- 
sponsibility for  Mr.  Greenwood  apart  from  his  wife,  but 
they  did  not  wish  to  deal  directly  with  him. 

Acquaintance  with  the  Greenwoods,  which  has  developed 
since,  has  brought  out  the  fact  that  Mrs.  Greenwood  has  a 
brother  in  comfortable  circumstances  who,  to  all  appear- 
ances, would  be  able  to  provide  for  her.  In  this  family 
also  there  are  stories  of  business  reverses,  which,  as  they 
are  attributed  to  Mr.  Greenwood,  have  caused  strained 
relations  between  the  two  families.  Because  of  this 
"  strong  feeling,"  Mrs.  Greenwood's  brother  has  been 
unwilling  for  the  past  year  to  help  her  and  her  husband, 
but  there  are  indications  that  he  might  be  persuaded,  in 
combination  with  other  relatives,  to  look  out  for  his  sister 
if  she  were  unencumbered,  just  as  Mr.  Greenwood's  rela- 
tives are  willing  to  provide  for  him  apart  from  his  wife. 

The  solution,  therefore,  seems  to  lie  in  getting  Mr. 
Greenwood  into  a  home  where  he  will  be  properly  cared 
for,  the  expense  being  borne  by  his  relatives,  and  in  throw- 
ing the  responsibility  for  Mrs.  Greenwood  on  her  relatives. 
The  obstacle  in  the  way  is  the  opposition  of  both  the  persons 
chiefly  concerned.  They  have  been  married  twenty-five 
years  and  object  to  being  separated,  and  Mr.  Greenwood 
seems  unalterably  opposed  to  entering  an  institution. 

Piper,  Bertha.  About  two  years  ago  Mrs.  Piper  asked 
to  have  two  of  her  three  children  placed  in  an  institution. 
It  was  found  that  she  had  been  deserted  by  her  second 
husband  eighteen  months  before,  and  that  since  then  she 


250  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  n 

had  supported  the  family  by  janitor's  work  and  a  little 
sewing  and  washing.  She  was  not  strong,  she  had  not  had 
nourishing  food,  the  work  had  been  far  beyond  her  powers, 
and  she  had  finally  broken  down.  She  was  very  loath  to 
part  with  any  of  her  children,  but  knew  no  other  way  of 
getting  along.  Her  husband  had  been  intemperate  and 
brutal,  and  she  hoped  she  would  never  see  him  again. 

She  was  sent  to  the  seashore  with  all  the  children  for 
two  weeks,  and  came  back  much  improved.  For  several 
weeks  her  rent  was  paid,  and  she  met  the  other  expenses 
by  washing.  Then  she  decided  it  would  be  better  to  take 
a  janitor's  position  again,  and  did  so  without  consulting 
the  society  that  had  been  helping  her.  Here  she  found 
again  that  the  work  was  too  hard,  and  it  was  discovered 
that  she  was  keeping  her  oldest  child,  a  girl  of  twelve,  at 
home  to  help  her  with  housework  and  sewing,  and  that 
both  were  working  until  late  at  night.  She  was  persuaded 
to  give  up  the  janitor's  work  and  move  into  more  healthful 
rooms.  Since  then  she  has  been  vacillating  between  the 
two  modes  of  existence  —  taking  a  janitor's  position  only 
to  find  that  her  health  would  not  stand  it,  and  that  it 
forced  her  to  give  up  her  outside  work,  and  then  moving 
into  rooms  upstairs,  relying  on  washing  and  days'  work, 
and  accepting  outside  help  toward  the  rent.  At  each 
change  she  takes  new  heart,  and  thinks  that  she  will  surely 
be  able  to  get  along  comfortably  by  the  new  arrangement. 
The  little  girl  goes  to  school  intermittently,  and  does  well 
when  she  is  sent.  The  main  features  in  the  situation  are 
the  woman's  unwillingness  to  be  dependent  on  outside 
help,  except  as  a  last  resort,  and  her  heroic  efforts  to  pro- 
vide for  her  children. 

The  three  following  cases  fairly  illustrate  the  difficulties 
encountered  by  a  widower  with  children,  and  by  those 
who  would  endeavor  to  help  them.  The  separation  of  the 
children  from  the  father  after  the  death  of  the  mother  is, 
as  a  rule,  the  easiest  and  most  obvious  course,  but  in  some 
instances,  as  in  the  first  one  cited,  it  is  found  practicable 
to  keep  the  family  together. 

Avallone,  Marcello,  who  lost  his  wife  two  or  three  weeks 
after  the  birth  of  their  last  child,  upon  the  advice  of 


PARTII  TYPICAL  RELIEF  PROBLEMS  261 

friends  applied  for  the  commitment  of  three  of  his  chil- 
dren. He  was  a  stone  mason  by  trade,  and  earned  four 
dollars  a  day,  but  had  had  only  irregular  work  for  some 
months,  and  at  the  time  of  application  it  was  difficult 
for  him  to  get  work  at  all.  There  were  six  children,  in- 
cluding the  baby.  The  eldest  boy,  Vincenzo,  nineteen 
years  of  age,  was  foreman  in  a  tailoring  establishment, 
and  earned  about  eleven  dollars  a  week,  from  which  he 
contributed  $9  a  week  for  household  expenses.  A  sister, 
Carmela,  who  was  fifteen  years  of  age,  looked  after  the 
children  and  helped  her  father  in  the  care  of  the  house. 
Angelo,  the  second  boy,  was  learning  tailoring,  but  re- 
ceived no  wage.  At  the  time  of  application  Angelo's 
age  was  falsely  given,  Mr.  Avallone  having  been  advised 
by  his  friends  to  make  him  appear  younger  in  order  to 
simplify  commitment. 

Fifty  dollars  of  the  seventy  needed  to  meet  the  expense 
of  his  wife's  funeral  had  been  borrowed  from  friends,  and 
this  they  were  endeavoring  to  repay.  It  was  learned  from 
the  lessee  at  a  former  residence,  who  spoke  highly  of  the 
family,  that  he  had  offered  to  take  one  of  Mr.  Avallone's 
children,  but  to  this  he  had  refused  his  consent.  After 
some  conferences  and  advice,  Mr.  Avallone  gladly  con- 
sented to  keep  his  home  together,  and  sent  the  two 
younger  girls,  to  whom  a  private  society  gave  suitable 
clothing,  back  to  school.  As  the  rent  was  too  high,  the 
family  was  removed  to  cheaper  rooms,  and  the  month-old 
baby,  through  the  efforts  of  a  charitable  society,  was  placed 
out  at  board  in  a  private  family. 

Schultz,  Frederick,  whose  wife  died  of  cancer  a  few 
weeks  after  the  birth  of  a  child,  who  also  died,  suffered 
from  locomotor  ataxia,  and  was  living  at  home  with  one 
child.  He  had  received  treatment  at  various  hospitals, 
and  had  spent  much  money  in  private  treatment,  but  doc- 
tors held  out  no  hope  of  recovery.  His  right  foot  and 
leg  were  badly  affected,  as  were  also  his  eyes,  particularly 
the  right  one.  Mr.  Schultz  had  been  employed  as  a  gro- 
cery clerk,  but  was  now  unable  to  do  such  work.  At  one 
time  he  had  kept  a  small  store,  but  was  unsuccessful,  and 
he  finally  sold  out  for  about  $50.  His  brother  took  charge 


252  PKINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  n 

of  this  sum,  together  with  a  little  money  he  had  saved, 
giving  to  Mr.  Schultz  whatever  was  needed.  This  brother 
had  also  aided  to  some  extent  from  his  own  means. 

When  first  taken  ill  Mr.  Schultz  belonged  to  a  German 
lodge,  which  gave  him  five  dollars  a  week.  This  was 
afterward  reduced  to  one,  and  finally  ceased  altogether. 
His  father-in-law,  who  was  said  to  be  extremely  poor,  lived 
with  him  for  a  time,  but  afterward  went  to  live  with  his 
daughter,  who  is  unable  to  give  any  assistance  to  Mr. 
Schultz.  At  the  time  of  his  wife's  death  four  of  the 
children  were  committed  to  an  asylum,  the  youngest  girl, 
aged  ten,  remaining  at  home  to  assist  her  father  and  to 
attend  school.  Mr.  Schultz  did  washing  for  a  neighbor, 
earning  a  dollar  a  week,  and  had  a  roomer  who  paid  another 
dollar.  Some  of  the  furniture  he  had  sold  to  buy  food. 
A  nurse  from  a  private  society  visited  him,  and  aid  was 
given  in  various  ways.  Later  he  received  treatment  for 
his  eyes  from  a  specialist,  a  national  society  aided,  and 
diet-kitchen  tickets  were  given.  Two  months  after  this 
he  was  ill  with  stomach  trouble.  The  national  society  con- 
tinued to  provide  food  and  also  supplied  coal.  A  month 
after  this  Mr.  Schultz  secured  temporary  work  at  from 
fifty  to  seventy-five  cents  a  week.  The  church  gave  cloth- 
ing and  shoes,  and  coal  was  supplied  by  a  private  agency. 
Soon  afterward  he  was  ill  with  grippe,  and  at  that  time 
a  society  provided  food,  a  doctor,  and  one  dollar  every 
other  week.  The  next  month  Mr.  Schultz  was  ill  again, 
and  the  nurse,  who  continued  to  visit,  gave  diet-kitchen 
tickets,  vichy,  and  coal.  Later,  suffering  from  abscesses, 
he  was  treated  at  a  dispensary.  He  had  no  work,  and 
received  fifty  cents  a  week  arid  food  from  the  church. 
Coal  was  supplied  by  a  private  agency,  and  an  individual 
who  had  become  interested  also  aided.  At  this  time  Mr. 
Schultz  was  taking  vapor  baths  at  home.  A  few  months 
later  he  was  much  improved  in  health.  His  lodger  had 
left,  and  he  was  doing  some  shoe  mending,  washing,  and 
peddling.  The  brother,  who  was  a  baker,  gave  bread 
occasionally,  but  no  other  assistance. 

Skidmore,  Ernest  and  Alice.  The  family  first  came  to 
notice  sixteen  years  ago,  at  which  time  Mrs.  Skidmore 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF   PROBLEMS  263 

expected  confinement.  She  refused  to  go  to  a  hospital 
and  a  doctor  was  sent  by  a  private  agency.  Mr.  Skidmore 
was  a  bartender,  but  was  idle  most  of  the  time.  Two 
months  later  the  family  removed,  and  Mrs.  Skidmore  made 
application  for  employment.  An  offer  of  work  was  secured 
for  her  at  twelve  dollars  a  month  and  board  but  she 
refused  it.  Work  was  also  offered  in  a  laundry,  but  this, 
too,  Mrs.  Skidmore  declined.  Two  years  later  Mrs.  Skid- 
more  was  referred  to  a  private  society  by  an  individual 
to  whom  she  had  applied,  and  to  whom  she  was  known  as 
a  persistent  beggar.  At  this  time  her  husband  was  working 
only  in  the  summer,  and  during  the  remainder  of  the  year 
lived  upon  what  his  wife  earned. 

Twelve  years  after  this  Mr.  Skidmore  applied  for 
assistance.  His  wife  had  died  two  years  before,  and  he 
was  out  of  work.  The  eldest  son,  Thomas,  had  been 
employed  in  a  dry-goods  house  for  seven  years,  but  had 
been  discharged  for  mischievous  behavior  three  months 
previous  to  application.  The  two  younger  boys  were 
working,  and  earned  $2.50  a  week.  A  private  individual 
who  had  aided  the  family  constantly  in  various  ways,  and 
had  at  times  given  as  much  as  $15  a  week,  was  still  called 
upon  for  aid  by  the  youngest  boy.  Mr.  Skidmore  suffered 
from  kidney  disease,  and  was  not  inclined  to  work.  Em- 
ployment was  secured  for  Thomas  by  his  father,  but  he 
refused  to  take  it,  and  spent  most  of  his  time  at  the  church 
to  which  he  belonged.  A  month  later  the  family  was  again 
referred  by  the  private  individual  who  had  previously  aided, 
and  who  was  still  being  annoyed  by  daily  requests  for  aid 
from  the  youngest  boy.  Of  these  requests  Mr.  Skid- 
more  said  he  had  no  knowledge,  nor  had  he  received  any 
of  the  money,  but  thought  that  his  son  was  working.  It 
was  learned  that  the  boy,  when  employed,  had  not  worked 
satisfactorily,  had  made  frequent  excuses  for  absence,  and 
had  been  generally  unreliable.  A  few  days  later  he  was 
arrested  for  stone  throwing. 

Two  months  later  Mr.  Skidmore  died  of  apoplexy,  and 
relatives  paid  the  funeral  expenses.  Thomas  secured 
employment  on  Long  Island  at  seven  dollars  a  week,  and 
John,  the  second  boy,  was  also  employed,  at  three  dollars 
a  week.  All  three  boarded  with  relatives  on  Long  Island, 


254  PRINCIPLES   OF  EELIEF  PART  n 

paying  six  dollars  a  week  each,  toward  which  expense  the 
individual  already  interested  contributed. 

Dr.  Leffingwell  opens  his  book  on  Illegitimacy  with  the 
following  paragraph :  — 

"Against  the  background  of  history,  too  prominent  to 
escape  the  observation  from  which  it  shrinks,  stands  a 
figure,  mute,  mournful,  indescribably  sad.  It  is  a  girl, 
holding  in  her  arms  the  blessing  and  burden  of  mother- 
hood, but  in  whose  face  one  finds  no  traces  of  maternal 
joy  and  pride.  There  is  scarcely  a  great  writer  of  fiction 
who  has  not  somewhere  introduced  this  figure,  in  the 
shifting  panorama  of  romance,  appealing  for  pity  to  a 
world  which  never  fails  to  compassionate  imaginary  woes  ; 
now  it  is  Effie  Deans  in  the  Heart  of  Midlothian,  now 
Fantine,  resting  by  the  roadside  with  Cosette  in  her  arms, 
or  Hester  Prynne,  pressing  little  Pearl  against  the  scarlet 
letter,  as  she  listens  from  the  pillory  to  the  sermon  of  Mr. 
Dimmesdale.  Who  is  this  woman  so  pitiable,  yet  so 
scorned  ?  It  is  the  mother  of  the  illegitimate  child.  By 
forbidden  paths  she  has  attained  the  grace  of  maternity, 
but  its  glory  is  for  her  transfigured  into  a  badge  of  un- 
utterable shame." 

Mrs.  Anna  T.  Wilson,  in  a  discussion  on  the  Care  of 
Foundlings  and  Illegitimate  Children  at  the  International 
Conference  of  Charities,  in  1893,  quoted  this  paragraph, 
describing  it  as  both  pathetic  and  prophetic  —  prophetic  of 
a  juster  era,  when  the  prototypes  of  the  Cosettes  and 
Fantines  of  to-day  shall  have  faded  altogether  from  the 
earth ;  pathetic,  that  it  should  be  necessary  to  plead  the 
sacredness  of  all  motherhood,  the  divinity  of  all  children. 

Two  illustrations,  differing  widely,  although  both  work- 
ing out  fairly  well  in  the  end,  may  be  cited :  — 

Webster,  Clara,  was  an  unmarried  mother  of  twenty-eight 
years,  whose  child  at  the  time  of  application  was  one  month 
old.  For  thirteen  years  Clara  had  lived  as  a  domes- 
tic with  a  family  in  the  south,  where  she  had  gone  upon 
her  mother's  death  when  her  own  home  was  broken  up. 
The  father  of  her  child  was  a  relative  of  this  family,  a 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF   PROBLEMS  255 

man  of  good  standing,  who  was  afterward  elected  to  a  high 
political  office.  As  the  easiest  solution  the  family  sent 
the  girl  north,  and  here  her  baby  was  born  in  one  of  the 
city's  maternity  hospitals.  She  was  then  compelled  to 
seek  employment.  Her  right  hand  was  deformed,  and 
this  prevented  her  taking  work  in  which  very  much  use  of 
the  hand  would  be  essential.  A  private  agency,  however, 
secured  a  position  for  her  with  her  child  in  the  country. 
Here  she  was  regarded  as  "  invaluable,"  for  she  proved 
efficient  and  faithful  during  a  period  in  which  there  was 
much  illness  in  the  family  with  whom  she  lived.  For 
nine  months  she  remained  in  this  position,  at  the  end  of 
which  time,  her  baby  being  ill,  another  situation  was  ob- 
tained for  her  at  a  convalescent  home,  where  the  baby  was 
admitted  as  a  patient.  From  here  she  removed  to  a  sec- 
ond convalescent  home,  as  the  child  was  still  delicate. 
After  leaving  the  home  a  situation  was  again  obtained  for 
Clara  with  her  child,  in  which  she  remained  until  the  fol- 
lowing spring,  when  she  returned  to  the  convalescent 
home  at  eight  dollars  a  month.  Here  she  stayed  for  the 
season,  the  child  improving  much  in  health.  For  three 
years  situations  in  various  places  were  obtained  for  her, 
all  of  which  she  filled  in  a  most  satisfactory  way.  She 
finally  obtained  a  position  in  the  country,  in  which  she 
remained  for  five  years.  The  family  thought  much  of 
her  and  were  fond  of  the  child,  and  she  did  her  work  well. 
At  the  end  of  the  five  years  she  was  married  to  a  widower 
who  lived  in  the  same  town,  a  mechanic  of  good  character, 
who  has  made  a  happy  home  for  Clara  and  her  child. 

Murphy,  Kate,  also  an  unmarried  mother  with  a  three 
months'  old  child,  was  rather  more  difficult  to  deal  with,  as 
she  persistently  gave  different  names  and  told  conflicting 
stories  each  time  she  visited  the  office  of  the  private 
agency  which  was  trying  to  place  her  in  a  situation.  It 
was  learned  that  Kate  had  already  had  one  or  two  other 
children,  of  whom  she  managed  to  get  rid,  and  it  was  only 
as  a  last  resource,  when  every  effort  to  discard  her  baby 
had  failed,  that  she  made  her  application.  She  was  un- 
truthful, difficult  to  manage,  and  stubbornly  reticent,  giv- 
ing no  information  whatever  in  any  direction  which  might 


256  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  n 

help  to  facilitate  action.  A  situation  was  secured  for 
her  in  the  country  with  her  child,  and  although  she  at 
first  rebelled  against  having  to  leave  the  city,  under  the 
kindness  and  good  influence  of  the  family  with  whom  she 
was  placed,  she  became  gradually  reconciled  to  her  posi- 
tion and  worked  faithfully  and  well,  taking  every  care  of 
her  child.  A  year  later,  owing  to  a  death  in  the  family 
which  had  engaged  her,  the  home  was  broken  up.  Kate 
had  no  difficulty  in  obtaining  another  position,  three  or 
four  families  being  anxious  to  have  her,  and  she  finally 
went  into  a  doctor's  family  in  a  neighboring  town,  where 
she  remained  working  satisfactorily,  and  her  baby  doing 
well.  The  agency  which  had  secured  her  the  first  situa- 
tion has  kept  in  constant  touch  with  her  both  by  corre- 
spondence and  personal  visits,  and  Kate  is  duly  appreciative 
of  the  opportunity  given  her. 

Information  concerning  homeless  men  asking  for  meals 
and  lodgings  is  usually  meagre.  The  following  instances 
are  typical  of  those  in  which  some  information  is  obtained. 

Davis,  James,  after  unsuccessfully  seeking  work,  and 
being  homeless,  applied  for  assistance  to  enable  him  to 
earn  enough  to  release  his  clothing  from  pawn.  He  was 
able  to  do  only  light  work,  as  he  was  not  strong,  and  had 
for  a  short  time  been  a  patient  in  the  tuberculosis  ward  of 
a  public  hospital.  Mr.  Davis  was  provided  with  meals 
and  lodgings,  and  light  temporary  work  as  night  watch- 
man was  secured  for  him.  This,  however,  he  found  to  be 
trying,  owing  to  bad  air  and  his  inability  to  sleep  during 
the  day.  A  few  days  after  his  application  a  college  friend 
provided  him  with  a  ticket  for  Colorado  and  a  letter 
insuring  work  for  him  upon  his  arrival  there. 

Curran,  Patrick,  a  homeless  man,  asked  assistance  in 
securing  suitable  clothing  and  shoes.  He  had  obtained 
a  position  as  porter  in  a  hotel  at  f  25  a  month.  For  four 
years  he  had  been  ill  with  rheumatism,  and  this  had 
interfered  with  his  work.  He  had  lately,  however,  received 
treatment  and  was  much  improved.  Previous  to  his  illness 
he  had  held  good  positions,  and  all  references  spoke  well 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF  PROBLEMS  257 

of  him.  The  clothing  was  supplied  and  meals  and  lodgings 
were  also  given.  After  working  for  two  days  Mr.  Curran 
was  discharged,  as  the  man  formerly  employed  in  the 
position  had  returned.  Work  was  secured  for  him  at 
another  hotel  with  a  wage  of  $30  a  month  and  meals,  but 
this  he  was  forced  to  give  up  as  he  had  to  work  in  a  badly 
ventilated  basement.  A  few  days  later,  having  been 
supplied  with  meals  and  lodgings  while  looking  for  work, 
Mr.  Curran  secured  another  position  where  he  was  paid 
twenty  dollars  a  month  and  meals. 

Peterson,  Horatio,  made  application  upon  his  return 
from  Florida,  where  he  had  been  sent  by  the  minister  of  a 
church,  and  where  he  had  found  it  impossible  to  get  work, 
none  but  colored  help  being  employed.  He  had  formerly 
worked  in  a  restaurant  in  New  York,  the  keeper  of  which, 
a  colored  woman,  said  that  he  was  quarrelsome  and  could 
not  get  along  with  the  other  servants.  She  also  accused 
him  of  having  stolen  $100  with  which  he  had  gone  to 
Philadelphia,  he  continually  annoying  her  after  his  return. 
He  had  also  been  employed  at  one  or  two  private  resi- 
dences, where  a  favorable  opinion  was  held  of  him, 
except  that  he  was  considered  at  times  to  be  mentally 
unbalanced,  and  at  such  times  interfered  with  the  other 
servants.  It  was  learned  that  his  mother  was  an  inmate 
of  an  insane  asylum,  and  that  he  also  had  spent  some 
months  there.  At  one  time  also  he  had  served  a  short 
term  in  prison. 

The  following  are  fairly  typical  of  the  great  variety  of 
cases  arising  in  an  effective  enforcement  of  the  laws  for 
the  suppression  of  vagrancy  and  mendicancy. 

Johnson,  Dave,  is  a  full-blooded  negro,  twenty-one  years 
of  age,  of  hardly  more  than  rudimentary  intelligence.  He 
has  been  known  in  New  York,  for  two  years  and  a  half, 
as  a  professional  beggar  of  the  " sidewalk"  variety.  When 
a  boy,  he  had  lost  one  leg  at  the  knee  as  a  result  of  the 
practice  of  stealing  short  rides  on  trains.  This  disability 
was  his  most  valuable  asset  in  the  pursuit  of  his  chosen 
occupation. 


258  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  n 

Since  September,  1901,  he  has  been  seven  times  arrested 
for  vagrancy  in  New  York  City,  and  three  times  sentenced 
to  six  months  in  the  workhouse.  It  has  been  found  that 
he  has  served  terms  in  other  cities  for  shop-lifting  and 
pocket-picking,  and  once  for  petit  larceny.  In  different 
places  he  has  been  elevator  boy,  bootblack,  newsboy,  driver, 
and  errand  boy,  and  could  work  well  under  proper  direc- 
tion, but  would  not  keep  at  anything  steadily.  A  letter 
written  from  the  workhouse  implies  that  he  found  begging 
profitable,  for  he  says  :  "When  arrested  I  had  but  four 
pennies  in  my  possession,  and  the  officers  claimed  they  had 
been  watching  me  three  hours ;  you  see  easily  that  this  is 
a  falsehood,  for  if  I  was  begging,  I  would  have  had  much 
more  money  than  that." 

Attempts  to  start  Johnson  in  a  legitimate  business  at 
the  end  of  his  terms  in  the  workhouse  have  failed,  and  he 
has  become  increasingly  violent  in  his  threats  against  the 
mendicancy  officers  —  and  in  his  deeds.  During  one  of 
the  periods  when  he  was  in  durance  for  vagrancy,  he  stabbed 
a  fellow-prisoner  in  the  knee.  Recently,  when  a  mendi- 
cancy officer  was  about  to  arrest  him,  he  struck  the  officer 
with  his  crutch,  stunning  him  for  a  moment,  and  in  the 
scuffle  that  followed  bit  his  forehead.  As  a  result  of  this, 
Johnson  has  been  convicted  of  assault  in  the  second  degree 
and  sent  to  State's  Prison  for  five  years.  In  pronouncing 
sentence  in  this  case,  the  court  made  use  of  the  following 
language : — 

"  You  have  been  convicted  upon  the  testimony  of  officers 
assigned  to  the  Charity  Organization  Society,  one  of  the 
most  useful  and  deserving  organizations  of  this  city.  It 
is  their  work  to  investigate  those  who  are  in  need,  and 
when  they  find  that  applicants  are  in  need,  to  see  that  re- 
lief is  supplied.  They  are  also  keeping  the  streets  of  the 
city  clear  of  professional  beggars,  and  in  this  they  deserve 
the  utmost  sympathy  and  support  of  the  community.  It 
is  not  often  that  their  cases  come  into  this  high  court,  but 
I  wish  the  officers  of  the  society  to  understand  that  when 
this  does  happen,  they  will  have  here  every  consideration 
and  assistance  which  it  is  within  our  power  to  give.  They 
inform  me  that  you  are  a  professional  beggar ;  that  you 
have  been  convicted  of  vagrancy  and  other  offences ;  that 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   RELIEF  PROBLEMS  259 

you  have  served  a  term  in  the  King's  County  Penitentiary; 
that  while  a  prisoner  recently  on  Hart's  Island,  on  a  charge 
of  vagrancy,  you  made  an  assault  upon  a  fellow-prisoner. 
While  their  officers,  in  the  proper  discharge  of  their  duty, 
were  attempting  to  arrest  you  for  vagrancy  on  this  occa- 
sion, you  committed  a  vicious  assault,  and  it  is  upon  this 
charge  that  you  have  been  convicted.  If  you  are  to  be 
supported  by  charity,  the  place  in  which  you  should  be 
supported  is  the  State's  Prison,  and  I  have  decided  to  give 
you  the  longest  sentence  which  the  law  permits  for  your 
offence.  You  are  sentenced  to  five  years  in  State's  Prison. " 

Hagerman,  James.  When  James  Hagerman  was  eight 
years  old  his  mother  died,  and  his  father  soon  married 
again  —  a  woman  whom  the  boy  did  not  like.  He  does 
not  say  that  she  mistreated  him,  but  that  he  stole  from 
her  and  struck  her,  and  at  the  mature  age  of  nine  left 
home  and  began  to  support  himself  by  begging.  A  fall 
which  he  had  when  still  a  small  boy  resulted  in  the  loss 
of  one  leg  above  the  knee.  He  drifted  to  New  York, 
where  he  sold  papers  and  begged,  living  at  a  newsboys' 
lodging-house,  until  he  fell  into  the  hands  of  the  law  and 
was  sent  to  a  reformatory  for  five  years.  A  position  in  a 
tailor  shop  was  found  for  him  on  his  discharge,  but  he 
did  not  keep  it  long.  His  employer  one  day  taunted  him 
with  his  recent  experience  on  the  Island  and  he  left. 
Very  soon  he  was  arrested  for  stealing  a  truck  load  of 
goods,  and  received  a  maximum  sentence  of  five  years. 
At  Elmira  his  record  was  poor,  and  he  was  kept  there 
four  years  and  six  months,  and  then  transferred  to  a  peni- 
tentiary to  finish  his  sentence.  After  his  release  from 
prison  he  worked  for  a  while  at  shoemaking,  the  trade  he 
had  learned  at  Elmira,  but  soon  went  back  to  begging. 
Before  he  had  been  out  a  year  he  was  sentenced  to  three 
months  for  vagrancy,  and  within  six  months  after  finish- 
ing that  term  to  another  six  months. 

Meanwhile  he  had  married  a  girl  of  his  own  class,  called 
Nell,  but  they  soon  drifted  apart.  On  the  occasion  of  the 
latest  arrest  for  vagrancy  he  made  a  strong  plea  for  a 
chance  to  begin  over,  and  it  was  given  him.  After  sever- 
ing connections  with  Nell,  who  afterwards  went  to  live 


260  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  n 

with  another  man,  he  had  "  taken  up  "  with  a  girl  named 
Maggie,  whose  husband  was  then  in  jail  awaiting  trial. 
In  their  circle  of  acquaintances  there  is  nothing  unusual 
in  these  casual  relations,  but  James  and  Maggie  seem 
genuinely  attached  to  each  other.  It  was  felt  that  both 
had  been  unfortunate  in  their  surroundings  and  that,  with 
a  new  chance,  both  might  yet  lead  decent  lives.  In  spite 
of  James's  history  he  still,  at  twenty-nine,  "  makes  a  fav- 
orable impression."  He  is  far  from  the  wretched,  cower- 
ing creature  that  is  so  often  the  product  of  a  prison  career. 
He  is  not  only  spirited,  but  good  natured  and  optimistic, 
and  has  a  most  attractive  vein  of  manliness.  Children 
are  fond  of  him.  He  carries  with  him  at  all  times  a  Ger- 
man army  button  which  his  father  used  to  wear,  and  he 
likes  to  tell  of  his  father's  part  in  the  Franco-Prussian 
war.  He  is  rather  seriously  disabled.  Besides  lacking 
one  leg  entirely,  he  has  a  bullet  in  one  arm,  and  his  re- 
maining leg  has  been  repeatedly  broken  and  operated  on. 
He  is,  however,  skilful  with  his  hands.  He  was  estab- 
lished by  friends  in  a  suitable  locality ;  he  was  supplied 
with  the  tools  and  materials  of  his  trade,  and  has  hung 
out  his  cobbler's  sign.  He  gets  some  work,  and  two 
cousins  who  have  been  discovered  help  him  a  little,  though 
they  are  themselves  poor. 

I? Ar ago,  Katharine.  For  twenty  years  Madame  d'Arago 
has  been  supporting  herself  by  devices  of  unusual  ingenu- 
ity and  coming,  from  time  to  time  and  by  various  chances, 
to  the  notice  of  the  Charity  Organization  Society.  In 
1886,  when  she  first  asked  help  from  the  society,  it  was 
found  that  she  had  received  some  assistance  from  another 
source  in  1882;  she  had  began  writing  begging  letters, 
and  she  had  pawned  the  blankets  in  the  house  where  she 
had  been  staying  and  "had  to  leave."  At  that  time  she 
stated  that  she  had  been  in  America  only  six  months. 
The  next  year  it  was  learned  that  she  had  recently  finished 
a  two  years'  term  in  the  State's  Prison  to  which  she  had 
been  sentenced  in  1884  for  immoral  traffic,  carried  on 
under  the  name  of  the  Countess  della  Grada,  clairvoyant. 

Her  history,  previous  to  1884,  is  difficult  to  unravel. 
With  a  fair  degree  of  consistency  she  claimed  to  be  an 


PART  ii  TYPICAL   BELIEF  PROBLEMS  261 

Austrian  of  noble  family,  and  she  always  said  that  her 
husband  was  an  Englishman,  and  that  she  expected  help 
from  his  relatives  and  her  other  English  friends.  In  re- 
gard to  the  number  of  years  that  she  had  been  in  America, 
however,  the  date  of  her  husband's  death,  and  the  num- 
ber, ages,  and  residences  of  her  children,  she  made  hope- 
lessly conflicting  statements.  It  is  known  that  at  the 
time  of  her  consignment  to  the  penitentiary  she  had  a 
daughter  nine  years  old  who  was  taken  in  charge  by  the 
Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cruelty  to  Children.  Ten 
years  later  she  claimed  to  have  two  children,  fifteen  and 
thirteen  years  of  age,  in  an  institution  in  the  country. 
In  one  of  the  letters  written  in  1896  she  said  that  she  had 
married  in  Rome  and  had  one  child  living  there.  She 
frequently  referred  vaguely  to  her  "  only  son,"  who  had 
died.  Generally  she  said  that  she  had  come  to  America 
as  companion  to  an  English  woman,  of  various  names, 
three  or  four  years  before  the  time  of  the  statement.  She 
was  always  prodigal  of  references,  which  could  seldom  be 
traced.  When  she  introduced  herself  to  the  Charity 
Organization  Society,  she  had  many  foreign  letters  of 
recommendation  and  said  that  she  knew  six  modern  lan- 
guages and  music.  Letters  are  on  file  written  in  Italian 
and  German  as  well  as  in  English.  The  English  is  that 
of  a  foreigner,  and  both  English  and  Italian  are  used  in 
such  a  way  as  to  indicate  that  they  have  been  acquired  by 
the  "  natural  method  "  rather  than  in  the  class  room.  In 
whatever  language  she  writes  she  displays  a  facility  of 
expression,  especially  in  her  vituperation  against  the  Char- 
ity Organization  Society,  that  might  be  envied. 

The  year  following  her  first  application,  that  is,  in  1887, 
she  again  asked  for  help,  on  the  ground  that  she  was  car- 
ing for  a  dying  sister  and  her  children.  It  was  found  on 
investigation  that  the  sister's  husband  was  able  to  provide 
for  her  and  that  a  relief  society  was  aiding.  When  the 
sister  died,  a  month  later,  Madame  d'Arago  asked  for  money 
for  the  funeral  expenses.  The  request  was  refused,  as  the 
sisters  in  charge  of  the  hospital  where  the  woman  had  died 
were  willing  to  arrange  for  the  burial.  This  exhausted 
Madame  d'Arago's  patience  with  organized  charity,  and 
thenceforward  she  studied  to  evade  it,  and  was  increas- 


262  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  n 

ingly  chagrined  when  she  found  that  many  of  her  appeals, 
even  if  far  afield,  led  back  to  the  same  office.  On  one  oc- 
casion she  got  the  money  by  means  of  a  letter  addressed 
to  a  prominent  citizen,  whereupon  she  wrote  a  most  abu- 
sive letter  to  the  society  and  called  on  the  secretary.  In 
this  letter,  and  several  similar  ones  written  later,  she  ex- 
hausts her  vocabulary  of  reviling  and  insulting  epithets. 

Although  she  evidently  hoped  that  she  had  at  that  time 
severed  connections  with  the  society,  the  records  give  a 
fairly  connected  account  of  her  activities  since.  She  seems 
to  have  been  unable  to  win  confidence,  and  of  late  years 
her  first  request  has  frequently  been  received  with  suspi- 
cion. From  institutions,  from  societies  of  every  religious 
affiliation,  from  newspapers,  and  from  individuals  of  prom- 
inence in  the  city,  and,  recently  because,  as  she  says, 
"there's  no  mercy,  no  charity,  for  a  helpless  woman  in  this 
big  and  wealthy  city,"  from  citizens  of  national  reputation 
have  come  inquiries  in  regard  to  this  woman. 

Her  attitude  toward  any  attempt  to  help  her,  aside  from 
giving  her  what  she  asks  for,  is  best  seen  in  the  letters  she 
writes  to  the  visitors.  The  letters  she  leaves  at  her  "  ad- 
dress," where  she  can  never  be  seen,  to  be  given  to  the 
"  Lady  Visitor"  who  "  will  call  again."  For  these  visitors 
she  expresses  elsewhere  the  utmost  scorn :  "  They  are  such 
very  fancy  ladies."  "Gentlemen  as  a  rule,"  she  says  in 
one  letter,  "  have  more  soul  and  feeling  as  women " ;  and 
in  another,  "  As  for  those  women,  I  hate  them  all."  "  Pray 
don't  go  house  for  house  to  make  me  a  public  charity." 
"  Pray  use  discretion."  "  I  am  so  sorry  that  ye  have  taken 
so  much  trouble  to  go  al  around  to  publish  me  as  a  Pauper. 
I  would  rather  have  starve  than  have  such  imprudent  Young 
Ladies  state  my  circumstances  to  the  public.  Safe  your 
neighbor  !  especially  from  public  slander.  What  did  you 
do  ?  Went  around  to  fetch  ignorant  children  to  find  me  ? 
Is  this  the  principle  of  your  employment  ?  Pray  safe  me 
further  investigation.  I  prize  my  peace  above  your  prom- 
ises." In  the  same  letter  an  interesting  note  is  supplied 
by  her  report  of  the  distress  of  the  family  with  which  she 
was  living  at  the  moment. 

In  1889  she  asked  for  help  at  a  convent  on  the  ground 
that  she  secured  converts  to  the  Roman  Catholic  faith. 


PART  ii  TYPICAL  RELIEF  PROBLEMS  263 

She  took  with  her  a  man  —  apparently  a  German  —  for 
whom  she  tried  to  get  assistance.  This  is  the  first  re- 
corded instance  of  the  practice  she  later  developed  into  a 
profession,  of  acting  as  an  agent  for  her  unfortunate  ac- 
quaintances. A  few  years  later  she  seems  to  have  turned 
to  proselyting  in  another  direction,  for  she  was  writing  to 
a  Protestant  clergyman  :  "  I  would  wish  God  would  help 
me  to  raise  an  Italian  chapel  and  school  in  East  New  York 
in  the  Episcopal  Faith.  I  could  canvass  two  hundred  to 
three  hundred  Italians  together  with  their  children  who 
now  go  to  no  religious  worship."  In  a  later  communica- 
tion she  assures  him :  "  I  am  able  to  unite  forty  families 
and  more  than  two  hundred  Italians,  to  join  a  more 
intelligent  religion." 

For  most  of  the  time  since  1893  she  has  lived  among 
the  Italians,  getting  a  lodging  and  meals  wherever  she 
could,  in  return  for  services  rendered  to  them.  It  has 
rarely  been  possible  to  find  her  "home,"  as  the  address 
she  gives  is  generally  a  bank,  a  bakery,  or  a  saloon,  where 
she  receives  her  mail  and  meets  her  clients.  She  says 
that  at  one  time  she  was  at  service  in  Brooklyn.  For  a 
while  she  lived  at  a  Salvation  Army  lodging-house  under 
the  name  of  Bertha  Klein,  but  generally  she  has  kept  to 
the  Italian  colony  in  which  she  was  found  in  1893.  In 
1894  she  was  living  with  an  aged  Italian  to  whom  she  re- 
ferred in  terms  of  respect  as  the  Reverend  Doctor,  and 
apparently  conducting  a  saloon  for  the  Italians  of  the 
neighborhood,  advertising  a  bureau  of  information  where 
she  gave  general  advice  and  carried  on  the  business  of 
notary,  commissioner  of  deeds,  and  railway  agent. 

The  list  of  occupations  in  which  she  has  been  engaged 
is  long.  According  to  her  own  account  she  has  been  — 
as  occasion  demanded  —  travelling  companion,  teacher  of 
languages  and  music,  translator,  interpreter  for  the  police- 
men on  the  block,  book  canvasser,  seamstress,  maid,  nurse, 
typewriter,  factory  hand,  cook,  general  servant  in  a  board- 
ing-house (where  she  was  obliged  to  "  peal  al  potatoes  for 
twenty  boarders ")  and  "  Missionary  with  the  family  of 
Rev.  Dr.  W.  in  Rome  and  the  Orient."  Her  most  con- 
stant source  of  revenue,  however,  has  been  derived  from 
the  profession  she  developed  for  herself.  She  made  herself 


264  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  n 

acquainted  with  the  workings  of  many  charitable  agencies 
in  the  city,  especially  institutions  for  children,  and  advised 
her  friends  where  to  apply  for  aid  whenever  they  wanted  it. 
If  her  clients  succeeded  in  getting  what  they  asked  for,  she 
would  accept  a  fee  from  them  ;  if  not,  she  would  write  to  the 
society  to  which  they  had  applied,  saying  that  they  were 
"  bad  "  and  needed  nothing.  Her  specialty  was  placing  out 
children.  She  got  children  into  institutions  for  a  consid- 
eration of  $10  or  $15  apiece.  She  also  secured  the  release 
of  the  child  from  the  institution,  when  that  was  desired,  for 
$10.  Unfortunately  for  her  prosperity,  her  second  appli- 
cation to  an  institution  was  apt  to  arouse  suspicion  and 
start  an  investigation.  She  also  found  homes  for  children  in 
families.  This  was  accomplished  through  advertisements 
in  the  Italian  papers,  one  of  which  reads:  "  A  poor  woman  of 

the  province  of  C ,  left  a  widow  with  three  children, 

six  months,  four  and  six  years  old,  seeks  a  family  which 
will  care  for  them.  They  are  healthy  and  very  pretty. 
Address  by  letter,  Mrs.  d'Arago,  at  number  315  Margaret 
Street."  The  address  given  was  a  saloon  kept  by  a  Ger- 
man, who  said  he  allowed  her  to  receive  her  mail  there 
and  meet  her  applicants,  and  often  gave  her  something  to 
eat,  because  she  was  "  so  kind  to  little  children  who  have 
nobody."  As  late  as  1903  she  was  still  procuring  "  work- 
ing papers  "  for  children.  When  one  mother  for  whom 
she  had  performed  this  service  refused  to  give  her  as  much 
money  as  she  demanded,  she  told  the  little  girl's  employer 
that  she  had  tuberculosis  and  thus  brought  about  her  dis- 
missal. Another  way  in  which  she  used  her  good  offices 
is  revealed  in  one  of  her  letters  asking  for  money.  In 
enumerating  her  troubles  and  misfortunes  she  says,  "  And 
I  got  an  Italian  woman  out  of  prison  and  for  reward  — 
she  did  not  pay  me." 

Several  letters  addressed  by  her  to  the  Bureau  of  De- 
pendent Children  seem  to  indicate  that  she  used  her  wits 
against  her  enemies  as  vigorously  as  in  behalf  of  her 
friends.  These  letters  contain  notes  on  families  who  have 
children  in  institutions,  but  who,  she  asserts,  are  perfectly 
able  to  provide  for  them  at  home.  "  Italians,"  she  writes, 
"  import  children  Daily  and  get  them  in  Homes ;  parents 
who  have  children  in  Homes  keep  Groceries  and  Beer 


PART  ii  TYPICAL  RELIEF  PROBLEMS  265 

saloons;  husband  works  at  shovel,  —  and  I  will  send  you 
a  list  next  week  —  Hundreds  I  know."  The  promised 
list  tells  how  mothers  "  dress  in  fine  style,"  and  the  family 
has  "fine  whiskey,  beer,  and  wines,"  and  lives  " luxuri- 
antly "  while  "  the  City  has  to  pay  "  for  the  maintenance 
of  their  children.  In  regard  to  one  family  she  is  particu- 
larly vehement.  She  writes  four  pages  about  them,  giving 
details  of  their  circumstances  and  advising  as  to  the  best 
method  of  approach  in  order  to  confirm  her  statements  ; 
for,  she  says,  "  All  I  can  help  to  get  you  good  cases  I  will, 
but  you  yourself  must  find  out  Points  to  confirm  yourself." 
The  methods  of  investigation  she  recommends  suggest 
that  she  studied  to  some  purpose  the  ways  of  "those 
fancy  Ladies  "  who  annoyed  her  so  often.  These  letters 
to  the  Bureau  of  Dependent  Children  may  be  one  of  her 
devices  for  getting  children  restored  to  their  parents  at 
the  parents'  request.  The  fact,  however,  that  they  were 
written  while  she  was  living  in  the  Salvation  Army  lodg- 
ing-house, as  Bertha  Klein,  point  rather  to  another  ex- 
planation, —  that  she  took  this  way  of  revenging  herself 
on  clients  who  had  not  come  up  to  all  her  demands  in  the 
way  of  pay.  In  either  case  it  is  entirely  possible  that  she 
had  helped  to  place  the  very  children  under  discussion. 

From  time  to  time,  in  the  course  of  these  twenty  years, 
Madame  d'Arago  has  apparently  become  discouraged  and 
thought  of  Europe  with  longing.  Twice,  it  is  known,  she 
has  obtained  money  avowedly  for  a  return  to  Italy  or  to 
England,  but  she  has  used  it  for  other  purposes.  She  has 
been  at  times  found  in  wretched  surroundings  and  sick, 
as  her  appeals  had  stated,  but  she  will  never  give  any 
information  or  allow  any  investigation  of  her  circum- 
stances. In  the  last  ten  years  she  seems  to  have  become 
intemperate,  and  she  has  at  least  once  been  arrested  in  a 
street  fight.  On  the  other  hand,  there  has  been  no  evi- 
dence, since  the  first  years,  of  the  kind  of  immorality  with 
which  she  was  then  charged.  In  spite  of  her  cleverness 
of  a  certain  kind,  her  ingenuity,  and  her  fund  of  informa- 
tion in  certain  directions,  she  has  never  been  prosperous. 
It  is  clear  that  life  has  been  hard  for  her  and  that  she  has 
suffered  much.  Not  the  least  pathetic  note  in  her  history 
is  that  she  seems  to  have  had  no  friends  —  to  have  lived  a 


266  PRINCIPLES  OF  BELIEF 

stranger  among  the  people  she  knew  so  well.  There  is 
every  evidence  that  her  statement,  "  I  never  tell  nobody 
anything  of  my  trouble  or  suffering,"  is  literally  true  as 
applied  to  her  daily  associates,  though  she  made  notable 
exceptions  to  the  rule  in  asking  for  help  from  men  and 
women  far  removed.  There  is  a  ring  of  sincerity  in  her 
lament  to  one  of  these  latter,  "  These  are  not  my  nation." 


PART   III 

HISTORICAL  SURVEY 


CHAPTER  I 

THE  REFORM  OF  THE  ENGLISH  POOR  LAW 

INASMUCH  as  the  reform  of  the  English  Poor  Law  in 
1834  has  exercised  a  unique  influence  upon  all  subsequent 
discussions  of  the  policy  of  public  relief,  it  is  interesting 
to  inquire  whether  the  circumstances  under  which  this 
reform  was  brought  about  were  such  as  to  warrant  the 
conclusions  ordinarily  drawn  from  it. 

The  famous  report  of  the  Commission  of  1832,  upon 
which  the  reform  was  based,  is  a  masterpiece  of  painstak- 
ing investigation.  It  happens  also  that  the  history  of  the 
English  Poor  Law  has  been  written  by  one  of  the  three 
commissioners  charged  with  the  administration  of  the  new 
law,  so  that  our  current  interpretation  of  earlier  and  later 
English  history  is  colored  by  the  very  views  that  controlled 
the  reformers  of  that  period.1 

In  a  word,  the  dominating  idea  of  the  reform  of  1834, 
which  has  remained  in  almost  unquestioned  supremacy 
in  England  and  America,  is  that  the  lax  administration 
of  relief  was  responsible  for  the  deplorable  prevalence  of 
pauperism  at  that  time ;  and  that  this  is  the  chief  source 
of  danger  from  which  even  .now  the  poor  must  at  all  haz- 
ards be  protected.  It  is  curious  that  not  only  writers  on 
the  poor  law,2  but  even  economists3  and  historians,  in 

1  Nicholls  :  "  History  of  the  English  Poor  Law." 

2  In  thirty  years  the'dependent  population,  called  into  existence  by  the 
facilities  of  relief,  brought  the  country  to  the  verge  of  ruin. — Mackay: 
"The  English  Poor."     This  volume,  however,  has  the  merit  of  discussing 
the  problem  of  pauperism  as  an  integral  part  of  the  social  and  economic 
history  of  the  people. 

8  Compare,  for  example,  the  description  of  "the  operations  of  the 
English  Poor  Law"  in  Hadley's  "Economics,"  pp.  53-55.  The  para- 
graph on  this  subject  is  a  part  of  an  admirable  discussion  of  economic 
responsibility. 


270  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  m 

referring  to  this  subject,  have  usually  treated  it  as  an 
entirely  detached  episode,  and  yet  nothing  could  be  more 
futile  than  to  attempt  to  estimate  it  without  reference 
to  the  stirring  events  of  the  generation  in  which  it 
occurred.  The  report  of  the  various  commissions  and 
parliamentary  committees  appointed  to  inquire  into  the 
conditions  of  particular  classes  of  laborers  is  perhaps  a 
more  authentic  and  instructive  source  of  information 
than  the  report  of  the  Poor  Law  Commission  itself,  for 
the  very  reason  that  the  attention  of  the  investigators  in 
these  other  inquiries  was  not  fixed  to  such  an  extent  upon 
particular  evils  and  upon  the  search  for  their  remedy.1 

At  the  time  when  the  new  commissioners  undertook  to 
reform  the  administration  of  the  Poor  Law,  England  had 
been  at  peace  for  about  twenty  years.  The  nation  had 
been  partially  relieved  from  the  crushing  burden  of  war 
taxes.2  The  collapse  of  prices  and  the  violent  readjust- 
ment made  necessary  by  the  close  of  the  Napoleonic  wars 
caused,  it  is  true,  severe  industrial  distress.3  Within  ten 
years,  however,  the  freedom  of  commerce  from  the  war 
embargoes,  and  the  return  of  capital  to  the  investments 
and  occupations  of  peace,  showed  their  natural  effect. 
The  relations  between  England  and  her  colonies  were 
greatly  altered  by  the  removal  of  restrictions  upon  colo- 
nial commerce ;  and  treaties  were  made  with  Prussia, 
Denmark,  and  other  European  countries,  which  were  most 
beneficial.4  The  exclusive  commercial  powers  of  the  East 

1  For  example :  Reports  of  the  Central  Board  of  his  Majesty's  Com- 
missioners who  inquired  into  the  employment  of  children  in  factories, 
1833. 

Report  on  Enclosures,  1808. 

Report  of  the  Select  Committee  on  the  State  of  the  Coal  Trade,  1830. 
Report  of  the  Select  Committee  on  Manufactures,  Commerce,   and 
Shipping,  1833. 

2  Early  in  the  present  centuiy  the  Imperial  taxes  —  for  the  greater 
part  war  taxes  —  amounted  to  one-fifth  of  the  whole  income  of  the  coun- 
try, whereas  now  they  are  not  more  than  one-twentieth,  and  even  of  this 
a  great  part  is  spent  on  education  and  other  benefits  which  government 
did  not  then  afford.  —Marshall :  "Principles  of  Economics,"  p.  233. 

8  Never  was  the  United  Kingdom  in  a  more  parlous  state  than  when 
the  crowning  triumph  of  Wellington  placed  it  at  the  head  of  the  nation. 
—  Rose:  "The  Rise  of  Democracy,"  p.  15. 

*  Cunningham:  "Growth  of  English  Industry  and  Commerce  in 
Modern  Times,"  p.  593. 


CHAP,  i       COMMERCIAL  AND  INDUSTRIAL   CHANGES  271 

India  Company  were  abolished,  introducing  a  regime  of 
free  competition  in  the  commerce  of  the  East.  Steam 
power  was  applied  to  navigation.1  The  conclusions  em- 
bodied in  the  report  of  the  Bullion  Committee  had  been 
accepted,  specie  payments  had  been  resumed,  and  the  cur- 
rency had  thus  been  placed  upon  a  stable  basis.2 

The  industrial  revolution  was  complete,  the  new  factory 
system  having  replaced  the  old  system  of  domestic  manu- 
factures. The  temporary  distress  caused  by  the  loss  of 
by-occupations  for  agricultural  laborers  had  passed  away, 
and  the  national  industries  had  adjusted  themselves  to  the 
new  conditions.  Agriculture  itself  had  also  undergone  a 
revolution  by  which  the  modern  system  had  replaced  that 
which  had  prevailed  with  slight  changes  for  centuries. 
By  drainage,  fertilization,  and  the  better  means  of  com- 
munication, the  productiveness  of  the  land  had  been  vastly 
increased  at  the  very  time  when  the  division  of  labor  had 
been  brought  about  so  that  those  who  remained  on  the 
farm  devoted  their  energies  entirely  to  farm  labor.3 

In  this  process  individuals  undoubtedly  suffered,  but  the 
nation  at  large  greatly  gained.4  The  wasteful  system  of 
common  holdings  had  disappeared.  The  enclosures  which 

1  The  expansion  which  has  taken  place  in  our  foreign  commerce  was 
not  so  much  due  to  the  breaking  down  of  [the]  old  monopolies  as  to  the 
improvements  in  the  physical  means  of  communication.  —  Cunningham  : 
"  Growth  of  English  Industry  and  Commerce  in  Modern  Times,"  p.  596. 

2  How  great  an  effect  a  change  of  this  kind  in  the  monetary  standard 
of  value  may  have  is  sufficiently  obvious  to  American  students  of  the 
period  since  1897. 

8  Cunningham :  "  Growth  of  English  Industry  and  Commerce  in 
Modern  Times,"  p.  657. 

*  If  things  were  very  bad  in  1821,  they  had  begun  to  recover  during 
the  next  decade,  as  the  Parliamentary  Committee  of  1833  reported  that 
the  general  condition  of  the  agricultural  laborer  in  full  employment  was 
better  than  at  any  former  period,  and  that  his  money  wages  gave  him  a 
greater  command  over  the  comforts  of  life.  — Cunningham  :  "  Growth  of 
English  Industry  and  Commerce  in  Modern  Times,"  p.  652. 

Compare  with  this  Marshall's  account  of  the  conditions  at  the  begin- 
ning of  the  century  :  The  eighteenth  century  wore  on  to  its  close  and 
the  next  century  began  ;  year  by  year  the  condition  of  the  working  classes 
in  England  became  more  gloomy.  An  astonishing  series  of  bad  harvests, 
a  most  exhausting  war,  a  change  in  the  methods  of  industry  that  dislo- 
cated old  ties,  combined  with  an  injudicious  poor  law  to  bring  the  working 
classes  into  the  greatest  misery  they  have  ever  suffered,  at  all  events 
since  the  beginning  of  trustworthy  records  of  English  social  history.  — 
"Principles  of  Economics,"  p.  233, 


272  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

took  place  at  the  end  of  the  eighteenth  century  and  at  the 
beginning  of  the  nineteenth,  while  depriving  the  poor  of 
rights  which  they  had  enjoyed,  permitted  the  introduction 
of  a  more  rational  use  of  land,  offering  great  contrasts  to 
the  enclosures  which  had  been  so  fiercely  denounced  in 
the  sixteenth  century,  and  as  a  result  of  which  grazing  as 
a  rule  replaced  tillage.1 

Other  changes  were  made  in  the  first  third  of  the  nine- 
teenth century,  which,  although  of  a  different  character, 
still  exercised  a  marked  influence  upon  the  character  of 
large  elements  of  the  population.  In  spite  of  the  severe 
law  against  combinations  of  workingmen  the  trade-union 
movement  then  made  its  successful  struggle  for  existence. 
Ten  years  before  the  Poor  Law  Commission  entered  upon 
its  duties  Parliament  had  passed  a  bill  to  repeal  all  the 
combination  laws  and  to  legalize  trade  societies.  While 
the  immediate  effect  of  this  repeal  was  the  organization  of 
a  large  number  of  unions,  frequent  strikes  and  serious 
disturbances,  this  effect  again  was  temporary ;  and  by  the 
time  which  especially  concerns  us  the  trade-union  move- 
ment had  become  a  means  of  strengthening  the  position  of 
the  laborer  and  increasing  his  wages,  arid  especially  had 
become  a  recognized  means  of  preventing  the  possibility 
of  shifting  to  wages  the  temporary  burdens  of  hard  times.2 
It  had  been  anticipated  by  those  who  had  been  most  active 
in  carrying  this  reform  that  the  repeal  of  the  laws  against 
combinations,  and  the  consequent  stopping  of  the  perse- 
cutions which  such  laws  had  made  possible,  would  result 
in  the  virtual  disappearance  of  trade-unions.  It  was  felt 
that  these  had  existed  only  because  of  oppression  and  that 
they  would  fall  to  pieces  with  the  introduction  of  equality 
before  the  law.  Such  forecasts  were  not  fulfilled.  The 
trade-union  movement  did,  perhaps,  occupy  less  exclusively 

1  Cunningham :    "Growth  of    English    Industry   and  Commerce  in 
Modern  Times,"  p.  487. 

2  The  labor  question  may  be  said  to  have  come  into  public  view 
simultaneously  with  the  repeal,  between  sixty  and  seventy  years  ago,  of 
the  Combination  Laws  which  had  made  it  an  offence  for  laboring  men  to 
unite  for  the  purpose  of  procuring  by  joint  action,  through  peaceful  means, 
an  augmentation  of  their  wages.    From  this  point  progress  began.  —  Glad- 
stone, quoted  in  Wallas's  "Life  of  Francis  Place."     Chapter  viii  of  this 
Life  gives  an  excellent  account  of  Place's  relation  to  this  repeal.     The 
subject  is  more  generally  treated  in  Webb's  "  History  of  Trade  Unionism." 


CHAP,  i      INTELLECTUAL   AND   SOCIAL   MOVEMENTS  273 

than  in  the  period  immediately  preceding  the  attention  of 
the  leaders  of  the  working  people,  but  if  so,  this  was  only 
because  it  became  merged  in  larger  social  and  political 
agitations  of  the  period,  in  which  the  trade  combinations 
played  an  important  part.1 

If  it  were  our  purpose  to  trace  the  intellectual  and  moral 
forces  which  resulted  in  the  great  national  awakening 
which  may  be  said  to  have  culminated  in  the  reform  bills 
of  the  thirties,  rather  than  the  actual  changes  in  the  laws 
and  the  industrial  system,  it  would  be  necessary  to  study 
the  socialistic  movement  of  which  Robert  Owen  was  the 
apostle.  Inasmuch  as  his  specific  proposals  failed  it  is 
only  necessary  to  call  attention  to  the  enthusiasm  and  the 
enlightenment  resulting  from  his  crusade,  which  permeated 
more  or  less  completely  the  whole  movement  for  larger 
freedom  and  constructive  reform.  His  demonstration  that 
the  great  distress  from  which  particular  classes  suffered 
was  "  a  new  economic  phenomenon,  the  inevitable  result  of 
unfettered  competition  and  irresponsible  ownership  of  a 
means  of  production,"  2  contributed  to  the  partial  allevi- 
ation of  those  evils  by  Parliament,  and  made  easier  the 
adoption  of  less  radical  and  more  practicable  remedies. 

It  would  also  be  essential,  in  a  full  account  of  the  forces 
which  gave  shape  to  the  ideas  and  policies  of  the  period,  to 
include  the  contribution  of  Mai  thus  and  other  political 
economists,  and  to  trace  the  rise  of  the  Manchester  or 
laissez-faire  school  and  its  influence  upon  legislation. 
Such  inquiries  would  be  aside  from  our  present  purpose, 
closely  related  as  they  are.  Even  within  the  field  of  actual 
reform  it  is  necessary  to  pass  over  such  important  although 
minor  events  as  the  fight  for  a  free  press  and  cheap  news- 
papers, a  movement  popular  among  the  poor,  and  the 
organization  of  the  metropolitan  police  force  of  London, 
which,  although  as  unpopular  as  the  other  was  popular, 
was  likewise  in  the  long  run  beneficial. 

It  was  in  this  period  that  the  criminal  law  was 
thoroughly  reformed  under  the  leadership  of  Sir  Robert 
Peel,  the  death  penalty  being  abolished  for  many  offences, 
over  three  hundred  acts  relating  to  the  criminal  law 

1  Webb  :  "The  History  of  Trade  Unionism,'1  chapters  ii  and  iii. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  143. 

T 


274  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

having  been  wholly  or  partially  repealed,  and  the  remainder 
codified  into  a  consistent  and  intelligible  system.1 

Catholic  emancipation,  while  of  greater  importance  in 
Ireland  than  in  England,  was,  nevertheless,  a  significant 
change  for  a  large  element  of  the  population  in  both 
countries.  The  removal  of  the  disabilities  under  which 
Roman  Catholics  labored,  by  which  it  became  possible  for 
them  to  enter  the  universities  and  to  hold  high  office  in 
the  state,  was  only  an  indication  of  a  radical  change  for 
the  better  in  the  political  and  social  status  of  those  who 
professed  that  faith.  Other  dissenters  from  the  established 
church  shared  in  the  liberal  movement  in  a  manner  which 
added  to  their  standing  in  the  community  and  gave  them 
increased  reason  for  looking  upon  themselves  as  citizens 
and  equal  sharers  in  the  social  and  industrial  life. 

A  humanitarian  movement  totally  unprecedented  in 
volume  and  intensity  swept  over  the  face  of  England  in 
the  thirty  years  under  review.  It  brought  about  the 
beginning  of  the  factory  acts,  the  restriction  of  child 
labor,2  the  protection  of  pauper  apprentices,  and  the 
agitation  against  slavery  in  the  colonies  and  in  foreign 
countries,  as  well  as  the  organization  of  private  societies 
for  the  amelioration  of  the  condition  of  the  poor.  In  the 
text-books  of  history  attention  is  largely  focussed,  so  far 
as  this  period  is  comcerned,  on  the  enormous  political 
revolution,  although  it  was  brought  about  without  the 
violence  accompanying  similar  political  changes  in  France 
and  other  countries.3  In  the  brief  twenty  years  between 
the  close  of  the  Peninsular  War  and  the  reform  of  the 
English  Poor  Law  the  political  control  of  England  passed 
completely  from  the  aristocracy  to  the  middle  classes.  The 
suffrage  was  placed  upon  a  new  basis,  parliamentary 
representation  was  wholly  reformed,  and  even  the  great 

1  J.  R.  Thursfield  :  "  Life  of  Peel,''  in  English  Statesmen  Series. 

2  It  is  now  admitted  that  the  legislation  for  the  factories  has  worked 
almost  entirely  beneficent  results.     None  of  the  evils  anticipated  from  it 
have  come  to  pass.     Almost  all  the  good  it  proposed  to  do  has  been 
realized.  —  McCarthy  :  "The  Epoch  of  Reform,"  p.  96. 

8  Some  of  the  grievances  under  which  the  English  people  suffered 
before  this  Epoch  of  Reform  were  severe  enough  to  have  warranted  an 
attempt  at  revolution  if  no  other  means  of  relief  seemed  attainable,  and 
if  that  desperate  remedy  had  some  chance  of  success.  —  McCarthy : 
"Epoch  of  Reform,"  Introduction,  p.  vi. 


CHAP,  i    THE   PSYCHOLOGICAL   MOMENT  FOR   REFORM        275 

leaders  of  the  earlier  period  retained  their  positions  and 
their  influence  only  in  so  far  as  they  frankly  accepted  the 
new  situation  and  acted  upon  the  idea  that  the  change 
which  had  been  made  was  not  even  to  be  questioned. 

Such  then  were  some  of  the  more  important  changes  in 
this  period  so  marvellously  productive  of  change  and  prog- 
ress. The  balance  of  power  shifted  from  the  country  to 
the  town,  from  the  landed  interests  to  the  industrial  and 
commercial  interests,  from  the  aristocracy  to  the  middle 
classes.  The  development  of  the  factory  system,  the 
introduction  of  labor-saving  devices,  the  introduction  of 
steamships,  the  repeal  of  taxation,  the  division  of  labor, 
the  introduction  of  elementary  education,  the  better  pro- 
tection of  children  and  of  operatives  engaged  in  dangerous 
occupations,  and  the  increased  dignity  which  are  insepa- 
rably associated  with  political  and  religious  freedom,  all 
combined  to  elevate  the  position  of  the  average  citizen, 
to  increase  the  national  dividend,  and  to  give  to  the 
producer,  as  compared  with  the  unproductive  classes,  an 
increased  share  in  the  national  product.  If  in  the  whole 
history  of  England  a  golden  moment  were  to  be  chosen  in 
which  to  discontinue  relief  extended  from  the  public  funds 
to  large  numbers  of  people,  it  would  have  been  in  the  exact 
period  in  which  the  Poor  Law  Commission  had  the  oppor- 
tunity to  test  their  ideas  of  the  advantages  of  strict  ad- 
ministration. It  is  not  improbable  that  if  the  relief  given 
so  lavishly  before  the  industrial  and  social  changes  had 
been  made,  or  even  after  they  had  begun,  but  before  the 
country  had  adjusted  itself  to  the  new  conditions,  had 
been  withdrawn  earlier,  the  results  would  have  been 
different  and  that  the  unpopularity  gained  by  the  Commis- 
sioners even  as  it  was  would  have  been  greatly  increased.1 

1  The  transition  was  made  with  little  warning,  and  without  any  pre- 
liminary training  in  thrift,  but  at  a  time  when  wheat  was  plentiful  and 
cheap.  When  soon  afterwards  there  were  crop  failures  and  high  prices, 
there  were  bitter  complaints,  especially  from  Lancashire  and  other  north- 
ern counties  in  which  the  abuses  of  the  old  system  had  been  much  less 
serious  than  in  southern  counties.  From  these  counties  it  was  the  tax- 
payers rather  than  the  poor  that  testified  to  the  excellence  of  the  law. 
In  a  later  period  the  resentment  of  the  working  population  was  strongly 
exhibited.  Rose,  in  his  volume  on  the  "  Rise  of  Democracy,"  says  that 
' ' '  physical  force  '  chartism  gained  its  strength  from  the  popular  hatred 
against  the  Poor  Law." 


276  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

Is  it  not  probable  that  the  great  improvements  which  are 
supposed  to  have  resulted  from  the  stricter  administration 
of  the  Poor  Law  may  have  been  due  instead  in  large  part, 
in  so  far  as  they  were  changes  in  personal  character,  to 
the  other  causes  that  have  been  outlined  —  causes  which 
it  will  be  noticed  are  not  economic  alone,  but  to  a  large 
extent  educational,  social,  and  moral  ?  If  we  can  imagine 
the  history  of  the  English  poor  between  1820  and  1850 
without  the  intervention  of  the  Poor  Law,  either  in  its  more 
liberal  or  in  its  stricter  administration,  is  it  not  probable 
that  the  changes  occurring  in  the  occupations  and  habits 
of  the  people  would  have  been  virtually  what  they  were 
in  fact  ? l  In  other  words,  has  not  the  part  which  was 
played  by  the  Poor  Law  in  its  more  lax  form  and  the  effect 
of  the  introduction  of  the  more  severe  standards  been 
greatly  exaggerated?  When  we  compare  this  single 
influence  with  those  which  even  in  their  bearing  on  the 
welfare  of  the  poor  alone  are  of  such  greater  sweep  and 
magnitude,  it  becomes  obvious,  not  indeed  that  a  lax 
administration  of  the  Poor  Law  can  be  defended,  but 
that  it  is  an  error  to  give  disproportionate  emphasis  to  its 
effect  upon  the  welfare  and  character  of  the  laboring 
population.  The  change  from  an  agricultural  to  an  in- 
dustrial community  might  rather  be  regarded  as  making 
possible  an  improvement  in  Poor-Law  administration,  al- 
though the  new  problems  caused  by  the  increased  popu- 
lation of  the  towns  are  many  and  serious.  England  was 
saved  from  pauperization,  revolution,  and  other  unforeseen 
disasters,  not  by  deciding  to  distribute  less  relief  or  by 
deciding  that  the  able-bodied  poor,  if  assisted  at  all,  should 
be  assisted  only  in  the  workhouse,  wise  as  these  decisions 
were,  but  by  the  rise  of  religious  and  political  liberty, 
by  introducing  in  advance  of  other  countries  modern 
forms  of  agriculture  and  industry,  by  developing  her  com- 
merce and  trade,  by  the  adoption  of  a  more  nearly  demo- 
cratic organization  of  society,  and  by  listening  to  the  voice 

1  Private  relief  is  often  far  better  than  public  relief.  Cunningham 
records  that  in  1819  and  in  1826,  when  there  was  a  great  deal  of  distress 
among  the  Scottish  weavers,  large  relief  funds  were  started  to  which  the 
wealthy  contributed  more  largely  than  they  would  have  done  in  England 
where  the  Poor  Law  was  so  abundant.  See  Cunningham  :  "  Growth  of 
English  Industry  and  Commerce  in  Modern  Times,"  p.  638. 


CHAP,  i  THE    HISTORICAL   INTERPRETATION  277 

of  humane  and  public-spirited  counsels.  The  lessening  of 
the  poor  rates  was  made  practicable  by  and  was  not  the 
principal  cause  of  the  progress  of  the  period. 

The  reform  of  the  English  Poor  Law  is  found  to  be 
merely  one  step  in  a  series  of  related  changes  occurring  in 
a  particular  epoch,  and  under  exceptional  circumstances 
not  likely  to  be  renewed.  It  requires  historical  interpre- 
tation, and  is  as  far  as  possible  from  universal  precedent. 
The  laxity  and  demoralization  to  which  attention  has  so 
frequently  been  called,  is  not  to  be  looked  upon  merely 
as  an  exhibition  of  human  nature  certain  to  be  made 
whenever  relief  is  offered  on  easy  terms,  even  though  it 
may  readily  be  granted  that  the  offer  of  relief  upon  easy 
terms  is  dangerous  and  reprehensible.  The  abnormal  re- 
lief-giving may  even  to  some  extent  be  ascribed  to  greater 
actual  need,  caused  in  turn  by  the  war  taxes,  the  primitive 
methods  of  agriculture,  industry,  and  commerce,  and 
other  unreformed  features  of  the  English  social  life  of  the 
period.  The  present  plea  is  that  the  naive  interpretation 
of  the  relation  between  pauperism  and  the  Poor-Law  ad- 
ministration should  be  discarded,  and  that  if  that  experi- 
ence is  to  be  utilized,  it  should  be  studied  in  its  entirety, 
due  weight  being  given  to  such  other  causes  as  have  been 
known  to  be  operating  to  form  the  habits  and  determine 
the  character  of  the  people.  The  causes  of  poverty  are 
diverse  and  elusive  and  it  is  always  profitable  to  examine 
them  in  a  new  light. 

In  the  following  chapters  an  outline  is  given  of  the 
methods  by  which  American  communities  have  dealt  with 
their  relief  problems.  It  must  be  confessed  that  they  have 
shown  comparatively  little  originality  or  independent  de- 
velopment, although  exceptions  should  be  made  in  favor 
of  the  movement  inaugurated  by  Robert  M.  Hartley  in 
1842,1  the  state  boards  of  charities,2  originating  in  Massa- 
chusetts in  1863,  the  widening  scope  of  the  charity  organi- 
zation societies  in  recent  years,  and  the  liberal  emergency 
relief  measures  which  have  usually  been  adopted  at  times 
of  extraordinary  disasters.3 

1  See  chapter  on  private  outdoor  relief. 

2  See  "  Supervision  and  Education  in  Charity,"  by  Dr.  J.  R.  Brackett. 
Macmillan,  1903.  3  See  Part  IV. 


CHAPTER   II 

PUBLIC    OUTDOOR   BELIEF   IN   AMERICA1 

AMERICA  has  suffered  comparatively  little  from  pauper- 
ism, vagrancy,  and  those  forms  of  crime  and  disorder  that 
are  produced  by  extreme  want.  There  are  individual  in- 
stances in  every  community  of  persons  who  have  made  an 
economic  failure  of  their  lives ;  there  are  instances  in 
many  communities  of  large  numbers  who  are  subjected  to 
great  hardships  in  their  daily  toil ;  but  complete  failure, 
resulting  in  dependence  upon  others  for  the  necessities  of 
life,  is  more  exceptional  than  among  savage  tribes  or 
among  advanced  civilization  elsewhere,  and  even  those 
who  are  taxed  most  severely  in  their  daily  work  by  long 
hours  and  hard  conditions  receive  a  return  for  their  work 
which  enables  them  to  live  at  a  higher  standard  than  do 
manual  laborers  of  other  countries.  Brutal  and  squalid 
as  are  the  conditions  which  we  meet  occasionally  in  city 
tenements,  there  is  no  widespread  or  general  condition  of 
squalor  or  brutishness  which  can  be  regarded  as  typical  or 
permanent.  Or  if  in  a  particular  neighborhood  the  con- 
ditions appear  to  remain  permanently  bad,  it  is  neverthe- 
less found  that  the  individuals  making  up  the  community 
are  constantly  changing  and  passing  out  of  the  unfavor- 
able environment. 

1  From  this  brief  sketch  has  been  omitted  any  account  of  the  almshouse 
system,  and  the  history  of  the  various  methods  of  caring  for  dependent 
children  outside  their  own  families,  these  two  subjects  having  been  treated 
by  Robert  W.  Hebberd  and  Homer  Folks  respectively  in  a  series  of  his- 
torical studies,  published  in  the  Charities  Review,  1899-1900,  to  which 
the  author  contributed  an  account  of  the  care  of  the  poor  in  their  homes 
by  public  and  private  agencies.  This  account  is  republished  in  the  pres- 
ent chapter  and  that  immediately  following.  Mr.  Folks's  contribution  has 
been  republished  under  the  title  Dependent,  Delinquent,  and  Neglected 
Children.  Macmillan,  1902. 

278 


CHAP,  ii  LITTLE   DESTITUTION  IN  AMERICA  279 

Except  in  a  few  cities,  the  number  of  the  destitute  has 
been  small.  Except  in  recent  years,  neither  chronic  lack 
of  employment  nor  low  wages  have  been  a  serious  factor 
in  the  lives  of  any  considerable  number  of  people.  It  is 
still  true  that  for  the  average  workingman  and  his  family 
there  is  no  recognized  need  of  assistance,  even  in  sickness 
or  in  old  age.  Both  on  the  farm  and  in  town  the  laborer 
supports  himself.  He  borrows  at  times  to  meet  temporary 
needs;  he  gets  into  debt,  it  may  be,  at  the  grocer's  and  the 
butcher's ;  and  he  fails  sometimes  to  pay  the  rent ;  but  he 
cheerfully  pays  enough  more  for  rent,  meat,  and  groceries 
at  other  times  to  make  up  for  such  delinquencies.  He 
nearly  always  carries  a  small  amount  of  an  expensive  kind 
of  life  insurance,  and  he  organizes  readily  benefit  societies 
and  trade-unions  with  benefit  features,  both  of  which,  it 
may  be  said  in  passing,  need  better  legal  safeguards  than 
have  yet  been  generally  provided. 

Americans  are  not  economical  —  in  a  sense  they  are  not 
thrifty.  They  are  generous  to  a  fault,  and  they  have  lit- 
tle patience  with  petty  saving  devices.  Their  labor,  how- 
ever, is  unusually  productive  ;  thus  their  margin  for 
saving  is  large,  and  unremitting  hard  work  is  more  com- 
mon than  in  other  countries.  Still  more  characteristic  is 
a  readiness  to  adopt  new  methods.  Economies  of  produc- 
tion are  as  much  the  rule  as  is  the  absence  of  economies  in 
consumption.  It  is  natural  to  use  tools  and  machinery. 
The  inclination  to  discover  short  cuts,  to  combine  in  such 
a  way  as  to  save  labor,  to  invent  more  economical  processes, 
is  found  everywhere. 

If,  therefore,  Americans  are  not  by  nature  saving  or 
thrifty,  they  are  still  capitalists  in  that  they  naturally  use 
machinery  and  saving  devices,  and  methods  of  industry 
which  enable  an  ounce  of  muscular  energy  to  accomplish 
the  greatest  possible  result.  The  essence  of  capital  is  not 
accumulated  wealth,  but  rather  the  ability  to  apply  brains 
to  industry  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  human  labor  pro- 
ductive, and  in  this  sense  capital  is  more  abundant  in 
America  than  elsewhere. 

Widows  with  children  expect  to  earn  a  living,  besides 
giving  the  children  such  care  as  the  standards  of  life  de- 
mand. Widowers  with  small  children  have  more  trouble, 


PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF 


but  a  daughter  sometimes  becomes  a  sufficiently  competent 
housekeeper  at  a  tender  age,  and  remarriage  is  of  course, 
as  with  young  widows,  the  rule.  Desertion  by  the  nomi- 
nal head  of  the  family  becomes  alarmingly  common  in  the 
cities,  but  it  is  surprising  how  often  the  deserted  wife  and 
mother  finds  herself  practically  better  off  when  relieved 
of  the  worthless  husband's  presence,  and  how  often  the 
real  calamity  is  his  return  after  more  prosperous  days  have 
set  in  for  the  family  which  he  had  abandoned. 

Thousands  of  street  waifs,  abandoned  or  runaway  boys 
and  girls,  have  been  poured  into  Western  and  Southern 
country  homes  through  the  channel  of  charitable  agencies, 
without  apparently  exhausting  the  capacity  of  those  dis- 
tant communities ;  and  of  late  it  has  been  found  that  im- 
mediately about,  and  even  in,  the  cities  of  the  seaboard 
there  is  much  absorbing  capacity  of  the  same  kind.  This 
is  not  merely  an  instance  of  effective  organized  charity, 
but  is  also  an  illustration  of  the  surplus  means  which 
enable  so  many  workingmen  to  assume  additional  burdens. 

It  must  not  be  supposed  that  the  true  pauper  type  is 
absent.  In  every  part  of  the  country  there  exists  a  certain 
number  of  families  who  are  dependent  because  of  mental 
and  physical  deficiencies,  and  America  has  followed  the 
policy  of  Great  Britain  and  some  other  countries  in  sup- 
porting this  class  in  part  by  a  system  of  public  relief  in 
their  own  homes. 

The  fundamental  peculiarities  of  American  social  con- 
ditions to  which  reference  has  been  made  must  be  borne 
constantly  in  mind  in  the  study  of  the  prevailing  system 
of  providing  care  and  relief  for  needy  families.  If  the 
attention  is  fixed  solely  upon  the  machinery  of  relief,  and 
it  is  assumed  that  the  liability  of  falling  into  destitution 
is  approximately  the  same  as  in  European  countries,  it  will 
appear  that  there  has  been  a  lamentable  failure  to  organize 
the  relief  system  upon  a  definite  basis,  a  failure  to  bring 
about  a  clear  distribution  between  public  and  private  agen- 
cies, and,  among  the  former,  between  local  and  central  ad- 
ministrations. It  will  also  appear  that  the  systems  of  the 
several  states  differ  widely,  that  there  has  been  a  lack  of 
responsible  public  oversight,  and  that  official  statistics  are 
incomplete  and  unreliable.  There  is  much  justification,  as 


CHAP,  ii  VARIATION  IN  RELIEF   SYSTEMS  281 

it  is,  for  such  criticism.  It  is  reasonable,  however,  to 
temper  its  force  by  the  recollection  that  the  most  impor- 
tant feature  of  the  whole  situation  in  this  country  is  not 
the  wisdom  or  unwisdom  of  public  outdoor  relief,  not  the 
rival  merits  of  "organized  and  individual  charity,  not  the 
function  of  the  churches  in  relief  work,  not  the  formation 
of  various  schemes  of  industrial  relief,  but  the  very  gen- 
eral absence  of  any  serious  need  of  relief  in  any  form, 
except  that  which  relatives  and  neighbors  give  in  response 
to  personal  claims,  which  it  would  be  an  impertinence  to 
register,  or  to  discuss  as  elements  of  a  relief  system.1 

Through  the  whole  of  the  past  century  there  has  pre- 
vailed a  system  of  public  outdoor  relief,  usually  adminis- 
tered through  local  overseers  of  the  poor  from  funds 
provided  by  taxation.  In  the  Southern  states  neither  this 
system  nor  any  general  provision  for  the  destitute  was 
found  to  be  so  necessary  as  in  other  parts  of  the  country, 
for  the  reason  that  negro  slaves,  who  occupied  the  lowest 
place  in  the  social  and  industrial  organization,  were  in  all 
cases  a  charge  upon  their  owners,  when  unable  to  support 
themselves,  rather  than  upon  the  community.  There  are 
still  several  Southern  cities,  among  which  may  be  named 
Baltimore,  Washington,  St.  Louis,  New  Orleans,  Atlanta, 

1  It  is  scarcely  necessary  to  cite  evidence  of  a  fact  so  obvious  to  students 
of  comparative  social  conditions  during  the  past  century.  It  may  be  in- 
teresting, however,  to  quote  the  observations  of  the  two  most  acute  and 
competent  judges  from  across  the  sea,  whose  remarks  refer  to  periods 
nearly  half  a  century  apart :  — 

America  then  exhibits  in  her  social  state  an  extraordinary  phenome- 
non. Men  are  there  seen  on  a  greater  equality  in  point  of  fortune  and  in- 
tellect, or,  in  other  words,  more  equal  in  their  strength  than  in  any  other 
country  of  the  world,  or  in  any  age  of  which  history  has  preserved  the 
remembrance.  —  De  Tocqueville:  "Democracy  in  America." 

Little  outdoor  relief  is  given,  though  in  most  states  the  relieving  au- 
thority may  at  his  or  their  discretion  bestow  it,  and  pauperism  is  not,  and 
has  never  been,  a  serious  malady,  except  in  some  five  or  six  great  cities 
where  it  is  now  vigorously  combated  by  volunteer  organizations  largely 
composed  of  ladies. —  Bryce  :  "The  American  Commonwealth." 

To  those  may  be  added  the  testimony  of  an  earlier  writer  than  De 
Tocqueville  :  There  are  no  tithes,  no  poor  rates,  no  excise,  no  heavy  inter- 
nal taxes,  no  commercial  monopolies.  .  .  .  I  never  saw  a  beggar  in  any  part 
of  the  United  States  ;  nor  was  I  ever  asked  for  charity  but  once  —  and 
that  was  by  an  Irishman. — From  "An  Excursion  through  the  United 
States  and  Canada,  during  the  years  1822-3."  By  an  English  Gentleman. 
London,  1824. 


282  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

and  Savannah,  in  which  little  or  no  outdoor  relief  is  ex- 
tended. There  are  also  a  few  Northern  cities,  notably 
New  York,  Philadelphia,  and  San  Francisco,  in  which  no 
outdoor  relief  is  given  ;  but  these  are  regarded  as  distinct 
exceptions  even  within  the  states  of  which  they  are  a  part ; 
and  the  absence  of  outdoor  relief  in  those  cities  is  to  be 
attributed  to  special  and  local  causes.  Buffalo,  Pittsburg 
arid  Los  Angeles,  located  in  the  same  states  respectively  as 
the  three  cities  just  named,  all  have  a  liberal  if  not  lavish 
expenditure  from  the  public  treasury  for  the  relief  of  the 
poor  in  their  homes. 

As  far  as  the  public  relief  of  distress  is  concerned  we 
must  perhaps  accept  the  dictum  of  Amos  G.  Warner  that 
the  almshouse  is  the  fundamental  institution  in  American 
poor  relief.  This  has  not  always  been  the  case,  however. 
Whether  even  now  the  almshouse  or  the  alternative  of  a 
public  grant  at  home  is  the  residual  and  ultimate  resource 
depends  very  much  upon  the  personal  characteristics  of  the 
responsible  public  officials.  From  one  point  of  view  the 
almshouse  may  be  said  to  care  for  "  all  the  abjectly  desti- 
tute not  otherwise  provided  for."  Often,  however,  local 
authorities  have  received  into  the  almshouse  but  a  small 
fraction  of  the  public  dependents  —  those  who  are  abso- 
lutely homeless  and  helpless  —  leaving  to  be  helped  in  their 
own  homes  all  who  can  maintain,  even  with  partial  or  entire 
public  support,  the  pretence  of  a  home.  Outdoor  relief 
under  such  circumstances  becomes  the  real  residual  resource 
rather  than  the  almshouse,  the  latter  being  little  more  than 
a  hospital  ward.  Historically  outdoor  relief  antedates  the 
almshouse  in  nearly  all  the  states.  This  is  not  because 
the  almshouse  system  was  unknown  to  the  founders  of  the 
more  recently  settled  commonwealths,  but  because  at  first 
there  is  so  little  pauperism  that  an  almshouse  or  even  a 
"  poor  farm "  seems  unnecessary,  and  the  almshouse  has 
often  arisen  as  the  result  of  a  reform  movement  due  to  ex- 
cessive relief  and  its  attendant  evils. 

There  has  been  no  period  within  the  century  when  the  sys- 
tem of  public  outdoor  relief  has  gone  unchallenged.  In  the 
first  quarter  prominent  landmarks  in  the  discussion  of  the 
subject  are  the  report  to  the  General  Court  of  Massachu- 
setts in  1821  by  Josiah  Quincy,  President  of  Harvard 


CHAP,  ii     OPPOSITION  TO   PUBLIC   OUTDOOR   RELIEF  283 

College,1  and  the  searching  report  to  the  New  York  Leg- 
islature by  J.  N.  Yates,  Secretary  of  State,  in  1824.2  In 
the  second  quarter  more  attention  was  given  to  temperance 
agitation  than  to  charitable  reforms,  but  many  private 
relief  societies  of  various  types  were  founded,  and  finally 
one  of  the  most  valiant  of  the  temperance  agitators  evolved 
from  his  study  of  intemperance  arid  its  consequences  and 
from  his  experience  with  collateral  social  problems  a  plan 
for  the  oldest  of  those  associations  for  improving  the  condi- 
tion of  the  poor  which  have  since  under  various  names 
grown  and  multiplied  until  they  must  be  regarded  as  a 
most  important  factor  in  the  private  organized  relief  of  the 
poor  in  their  own  homes. 

In  the  third  quarter  of  the  century  eleven  state  boards 
of  charities  were  created,  one  of  whose  chief  functions  has 
been  to  introduce  greater  discrimination  into  the  disburse- 
ment of  relief,  both  outdoor  and  institutional  ;  while  en- 
tirely within  the  period  since  the  beginning  of  the  final 
quarter  has  fallen  the  origin  and  growth  of  the  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty-four  charity  organization  societies8  which 
have  most  energetically  combated  the  abuse,  and  usually 
the  practice  in  any  form,  of  public  outdoor  relief. 

The  Quincy  report  of  1821  on  the  Pauper  Laws  of  Massa- 
chusetts is  a  brief  and  scholarly  essay  upon  the  general 
subject  of  public  relief  of  the  poor.  It  is  based  upon  an 
investigation  of  the  practice  and  opinions  of  local  overseers, 
and  appendices  are  given  showing  the  number  of  paupers 
from  each  town  from  which  returns  are  received,  the 
aggregate  number  for  162  towns  being  4340.  The  total 
population  of  these  towns  at  the  time  of  the  report  was 
287,437,  while  the  whole  number  of  inhabitants  of  the  state 
at  the  time  was  472,000.  A  proportionate  number  of  pau- 
pers in  towns  not  reporting  would  have  made  the  total 
somewhat  over  7000.  The  average  estimate  of  the  ex- 
penses for  the  support  of  children  and  adults  was  $52  a 
year,  or  $364,000  per  year  for  the  7000  paupers.  The  sta- 

1  Now  very  rare.    Its  text,  however,  is  reprinted  from  a  copy  in  the 
Boston  Public  Library  in  Charities  for  September  30,  1899. 

2  Also  rare.     Reprinted  by  the  New  York  State  Board  of  Charities  in 
the  annual  report  for  1900. 

8  Sometimes  called  bureaus  of  charities,  or  associated  charities. 


284  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

tistical  information  given  with  the  report  is  meagre,  and  the 
Committee  contented  itself  for  the  most  part  with  a  gen- 
eral survey  of  the  situation,  drawing  its  conclusions  regard- 
ing necessary  reforms  as  much  from  the  discussions  then 
current  in  England  as  from  the  results  of  their  own  local 
inquiries.  It  is  pointed  out  that  if  the  increase  in  the  pay- 
ments out  of  the  state  treasury  be  taken  as  evidence  of  a 
corresponding  increase  in  the  pauper  burden  of  Massachu- 
setts, then  there  had  been  in  Massachusetts  in  the  twenty 
years  preceding  the  report  an  increase  greater  than  in  that 
for  the  corresponding  period  in  Great  Britain.  Without 
pretending  to  assert  that  this  is  a  true  criterion,  the  com- 
mittee considered  itself  justified  in  concluding  that  the 
pernicious  consequences  of  the  existing  system  are  palpa- 
ble, "  that  they  are  increasing,  and  that  they  imperiously 
call  for  the  interference  of  the  legislature  in  some  manner, 
equally  prompt  and  efficacious." 

The  system  thus  condemned  included  not  merely  provi- 
sion for  the  poor  by  supplies  in  money,  or  articles  at  the 
homes  of  the  poor  and  provision  by  almshouses,  but  also  in 
some  towns  provision  for  the  poor  by  letting  them  out  to 
the  lowest  bidder,  in  families  at  large,  within  the  town; 
and  in  other  towns,  by  letting  them  to  the  lowest  bidder, 
together,  that  is,  all  to  one  person. 

The  auction  system  as  applied  to  single  families  is  con- 
demned as  extravagant  and  as  applicable  only  to  very  small 
towns.  The  overseers  of  one  town  are  quoted  as  admit- 
ting that  the  average  expense,  which  was  about  $1.30  per 
head  per  week,  was  large,  but  added  that  "  the  poor  being 
sometimes  boarded  with  those  who  are  in  want  themselves, 
it  is  not  lost  to  the  town."  By  printing  this  quotation  in 
italics  President  Quincy  indicated  his  appreciation  of  the 
more  serious  objection  to  the  plan  of  which  the  overseers 
seem  to  have  been  unconscious. 

Auction  of  the  entire  number  of  paupers  to  the  lowest 
bidder,  while  it  partakes  of  the  character  of  the  preced- 
ing system,  is  less  expensive  and  has  the  merit  that  it  is 
"  an  approximation  of  the  method  of  supporting  them  in  a 
poorhouse."  In  Massachusetts  and  in  other  states  this 
method  of  caring  for  the  poor  actually  led  in  many  towns 
and  counties  to  the  establishment  of  nouses  of  industry. 


CHAP.II  CRITICISM   IN   MASSACHUSETTS,  1821  285 

As  to  the  provision  by  outdoor  relief  given  in  the  homes 
of  the  poor,  the  committee  declares  that  the  evidence  from 
the  towns  of  the  commonwealth  coincides  with  the  general 
experience  of  England  in  condemning  this  system,  both  on 
the  ground  of  expense  and  on  the  ground  of  its  effect  upon 
the  character  of  the  poor.  Upon  the  whole  the  committee 
reached  the  five  following  conclusions  :  — 

I.  That  of  all  modes  of  providing  for  the  poor,  the  most 
wasteful,  the  most  expensive,  and  most  injurious  to  their 
morals  and  destructive  to  their  industrious  habits  is  that 
of  supply  in  their  own  families. 

II.  That  the  most  economical  mode  is  that  of  almshouses 
having  the  character  of  workhouses  or  houses  of  industry, 
in  which  work  is  provided  for  every  degree  of  ability  in 
the  pauper,  and  thus  the  able  poor  made  to  provide,  par- 
tially at  least,  for  their  own  support,  and  also  the  support 
or,  at  least,  the  comfort  of  the  impotent  poor. 

III.  That  of  all  modes  of  employing  the  labor  of  the 
pauper,  agriculture  affords  the  best,  the  most  healthy,  and 
the  most  certainly  profitable  ;  the  poor  being  thus  enabled 
to  raise  always  at  least  their  own  provisions. 

IV.  That  the  success  of  these  establishments  depends 
upon  their  being  placed  under  the  superintendence  of  a 
board  of  overseers,  constituted  of  the  most  substantial  and 
intelligent  inhabitants  of  the  vicinity. 

V.  That  of  all  causes  of  pauperism,  intemperance  in  the 
use  of  spirituous  liquors  is  the  most  powerful  and  uni- 
versal. 

The  committee  did  not  recommend  immediate  legisla- 
tion, but  suggested  that  the  results  of  its  investigation  be 
communicated  to  the  several  towns  and  that  steps  should  be 
taken  looking  forward  to  the  eventual  placing  of  the  whole 
subject  of  poor  relief  in  the  commonwealth  under  the  reg- 
ular and  annual  superintendence  of  the  legislature. 

The  Yates  report  was  more  exhaustive  and  has  far  more 
historical  value,  since  it  contains  not  merely  the  facts 
regarding  almshouse  and  outdoor  relief  in  the  counties, 
and  to  a  large  extent  even  in  the  towns  of  the  state  of 
New  York,  but  also  a  considerable  amount  of  information 
regarding  the  relief  systems  of  other  states. 

The  first  part  of  the  report  exhibits  the  number  of  pau- 


286  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  in 

pers  in  the  several  cities,  towns,  and  counties  in  this  state; 
the  sums  of  money  expended  for  their  maintenance  ;  the 
sums  expended  for  the  costs  and  fees  of  justices,  overseers 
of  the  poor,  and  constables,  in  the  examination  and  removal 
of  paupers,  and  in  other  incidental  services  ;  the  number  of 
paupers  removed;  the  ratio  of  paupers  in  each  county;  the 
ratio  of  taxation  imposed  upon  each  county  for  the 
maintenance  and  relief  of  the  poor ;  the  amount  of  taxes 
raised  for  that  purpose  in  the  several  counties  for  the  pre- 
ceding six  years  ;  and  extracts  of  letters  from  mayors  of 
cities,  supervisors  and  clerks  of  counties,  overseers  of  the 
poor  of  towns,  and  from  other  sources  entitled  to  credit, 
showing  the  management,  general  success  and  effect  of  the 
various  local  experiments  in  the  state  for  the  support  of 
the  poor,  either  by  towns  or  in  poorhouses. 

The  second  part  exhibits  a  digest  of  the  poor  laws  of 
most  of  the  states  of  the  Union  with  extracts  from  official 
letters  and  documents  showing  the  operation  and  effect  of 
those  laws,  together  with  a  view  of  the  state  of  pauperism 
in  Europe,  and  brief  extracts  from  works  of  American  and 
European  writers,  illustrative  of  the  evils  of  pauperism 
and  suggesting  plans  for  their  amelioration  and  removal. 
The  report  distinguishes  two  classes:  the  permanent  poor, 
or  those  who  are  regularly  supported  during  the  whole 
year  at  the  public  expense ;  and  the  occasional,  or  tem- 
porary poor,  or  those  who  receive  occasional  relief  during 
a  part  of  the  year,  chiefly  in  the  autumn  and  winter. 

In  the  first  class  at  the  time  of  the  report  there  were  in 
New  York  State  6896 ;  in  the  second  class,  15,215.  Of 
the  permanent  paupers  there  were  446  idiots  and  lunatics  ; 

287  blind ;  928  aged  and  infirm  ;  797  lame  or  in  a  confirmed 
state  of  ill  health  and  totally  incapacitated.     There  were 
2604  children  under  fourteen  years  of  age,  and  1789  pau- 
pers of  both  sexes,  all  of  whom,  though  not  in  the  vigor  of 
life,  may  yet  be  considered  capable  of  earning  their  exist- 
ence if  proper  labor  were  assigned,  and  suitable  means  to 
induce  them  to  perform  it,  and  whose  labor  might  produce 
at  least  1150,000  annually. 

Two-thirds  of  all  the  permanent  pauperism  and  more 
than  one-half  of  the  occasional  pauperism  is  attributed  to 
intemperance. 


CHAP,  ii      CARE   OF  THE   POOR  IN  NEW   YORK,  1824  287 

The  counties  bordering  on  the  ocean  and  on  the  Hud- 
son River,  having  somewhat  more  than  one-third  of  the 
population,  provided  more  than  one-half  of  all  the  paupers. 
The  city  of  New  York  alone  maintained  one-fourth  of  all 
the  permanent  poor.  Mr.  Yates  considered  it  hardly 
necessary  to  explain  the  cause  of  this  great  disparity,  but 
to  the  modern  student  it  is  interesting  that  he  found  it  in 
the  dense  population  of  that  city,  and  of  the  large  villages 
and  towns,  which  from  their  convenient  situation  for  navi- 
gation and  commerce,  allure  to  their  haunts  and  recesses 
the  idle  and  dissolute  of  every  description.  "  Populous 
places,"  he  says,  "  have  at  all  times  been  burthened  with  a 
larger  proportion  of  paupers  than  places  where  a  thin  or 
scattered  population  is  found." 

Comparing  New  York  with  other  states  as  to  the  burden 
of  pauperism,  it  is  found  that  in  New  York  there  is  one 
permanent  pauper  for  every  220  souls ;  in  Massachusetts 
one  for  every  68;  in  Connecticut  one  for  every  150  ;  in 
New  Hampshire  one  for  every  100  ;  in  Delaware  one  for 
every  227  ;  in  Pennsylvania  one  for  every  265 ;  in  Illinois 
(then  a  new  state)  no  paupers  were  as  yet  supported  at 
the  public  expense. 

In  the  towns  and  villages  where  there  are  no  almshouses 
the  poor  are  disposed  of  by  the  overseers  in  three  ways : 

I.  The  overseers  farm  them  out  at  stipulated  prices  to 
contractors  who  are  willing  to  receive  and  keep  them  on 
condition  of  getting  what  labor  they  can  out  of  the  paupers. 

II.  The   poor   are  sold  at  auction — the   meaning   of 
which  is  that  he  who  will  support  them  for  the  lowest 
price   becomes   their   keeper;    and  it   often   happens,  of 
course,  that  the  keeper  is  himself  almost  a  pauper  before 
he  purchases,  and  adopts  this  mode  in  order  not  to  fall  a 
burden  upon  the  town.     Thus  he  and  another  miserable 
human  being  barely  subsist  upon  what  would  hardly  com- 
fortably maintain  himself   alone  —  a  species  of  economy 
much  boasted  of  by  some  of  our  town  officers  and  pur- 
chasers of  paupers  ;  or, 

III.  Relief  is  afforded  to  the  poor  at  their  own  habita- 
tions. 

The  expense  for  physicians  and  nurses,  in  attending 
paupers  in  towns  where  there  are  no  poorhouses,  forms  a 


288  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

prominent  article  in  the  amount  of  taxation.  Pauperism 
and  disease,  except  in  an  almshouse,  are  generally  found 
to  be  associated,  and  hence  it  is  that  this  item  of  expense 
is  so  much  complained  of  in  the  towns  just  alluded  to. 

After  a  full  examination  of  the  pauper  system  and  its 
various  provisions  and  results,  two  problems  are  presented 
for  the  consideration  of  the  legislature :  — 

I.  Ought    the  whole  system  to  be  abolished,  and  the 
support  of  the  poor  left  altogether  to  the  voluntary  con- 
tribution of  the  charitable  and  humane  ?     Or, 

II.  If  the  system  ought  not  to  be  abolished,  is  it  sus- 
ceptible   of    improvement,    and   in    what   mode    can   the 
improvement  best  be  effected? 

The  report  notes  that  men  of  great  literary  require- 
ments and  profound  political  research  have  opposed  all 
compulsory  provision  for  the  poor,  but  considers  that  the 
fact  that  every  state  in  the  Union  and  many  European 
governments  have  a  code  of  laws  for  the  relief  and  main- 
tenance of  the  poor  is  no  slight  proof  that  the  total  absence 
of  a  pauper  system  would  be  inconsistent  with  a  humane, 
liberal,  and  enlightened  policy. 

Proceeding  to  the  second  question,  the  proposition  is 
said  to  be  very  generally  admitted  that  our  poor  laws 
were  defective  in  principle  and  mischievous  in  practice, 
and  that  under  the  imposing  and  charitable  aspect  of 
affording  relief  exclusively  to  the  poor  and  infirm,  they 
frequently  invited  the  able-bodied  vagrant  to  partake  of 
the  same  bounty.  Full  and  satisfactory  details  are  quoted 
from  the  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Pauperism  in  the 
City  of  New  York  and  by  writers  of  letters,  from  which 
extracts  are  given  of  the  gross  abuses  which  have  grown 
out  of  these  laws.  The  general  conclusions  were  :  — 

I.  That  the  existing  laws  led  to  litigation  of  the  most 
expensive  and  hurtful  kind,  exhausting  nearly  one-ninth  of 
the  funds  intended  for  the  relief  of  the  poor,  and  leading 
to  harsh  removals  of  many  human  beings,  like  felons,  from 
no  other  fault  than  poverty. 

II.  That  the  poor  when  farmed  out  or  sold  were  fre- 
quently treated  with  barbarity  and  neglect. 

III.  That  the  education  and  morals  of  the  children  of 
paupers  —  except    in    almshouses — were    almost    wholly 


CHAP,  ii  REFORMS   RECOMMENDED  289 

neglected.  They  grew  up  in  filth,  idleness,  ignorance,  and 
disease,  and  many  became  early  candidates  for  the  prison 
or  the  grave.  The  evidence  on  this  head  was  regarded  as 
too  voluminous  even  for  reference. 

IV.  That  there  was  no  adequate  provision  for  the  em- 
ployment of  the  poor  throughout  the  state.     Idleness  very 
generally  generates  vice,  dissipation,  disease,  and  crime. 

V.  That  the   poor   laws   had   come  to  encourage  the 
sturdy  beggar  and  profligate  vagrant.     Overseers  not  un- 
frequently  granted  relief  without  sufficient  examination 
into  the  circumstances  or  the  ability  of  the  party  claim- 
ing it. 

VI.  That  the  laws  also  held  out  encouragement  to  the 
successful  practice  of  street  begging. 

VII.  That  idiots  and  lunatics  did  not  receive  sufficient 
care  and  attention  in  towns  where  no  suitable  asylums  for 
their  reception  were  established. 

In  general,  there  was  shown  to  be  an  evident  want  of 
economy  in  the  disbursement  of  the  public  funds ;  and  it 
was  demonstrated  that  the  law  of  settlement  was  a  fruitful 
source  of  litigation  and  difficulty. 

The  report  aimed  at  specific  reforms  which,  in  a  word, 
were  to  be  accomplished  by  restricting  outdoor  relief  and 
establishing  houses  of  industry.  The  worthy  poor  were 
to  be  relieved  in  an  almshouse,  where  children  were  to  be 
received  and  properly  educated,  and,  in  a  workhouse  or 
house  of  correction  conducted  in  cooperation  with  the  alms- 
house,  compulsory  employment  was  to  be  given  to  the  idle. 

A  bill  was  prepared  embodying  these  aims  to  accompany 
the  report.  Two  of  its  prominent  features  were  held  to 
be  entitled  to  much  consideration  :  — 

I.  It  would  relieve  the  poor  with  greater  humanity  and 
emphatically  with  more  economy  than  under  the  existing 
poor  laws. 

II.  It  would  provide  employment  for  the  idle  and  com- 
pel them  to  labor,  and  in  consequence  put  an  end  to  the 
practice  of  street  begging. 

The  plan  submitted  proposed :  - 

I.  That  one  or  more  houses  of  employment  in  each 
county,  with  a  farm  of  sufficient  extent  be  connected  with 
each  institution ;  the  paupers  there  to  be  maintained  and 


290  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

employed  at  the  expense  of  the  respective  counties  in 
.some  helpful  labor,  chiefly  agricultural,  their  children  to 
jbe  carefully  instructed  and  at  suitable  ages  to  be  put  out 
\at  some  useful  business  or  trade. 

xl  II.  That  each  house  of  employment  be  connected 
with  a  workhouse  or  penitentiary  for  the  reception  and 
discipline  of  sturdy  beggars  and  vagrants. 

III.  That  the  excise  duties  be  increased  and  a  tax  laid 
upon  the  owners  of  distilleries  of  whiskey  and  other  ardent 
spirits  to  compose  a  fund  for  the  relief  of  the  poor. 

IV.  That  one  year's  residence  in  a  county  constitute  a 
settlement  except  in  certain  specified  cases. 

V.  That  no  male  person  in  health  with  the  use  of  all 
his  faculties  and  between  the  ages  of  eighteen  and  fifty 
years  be  placed  upon  the  pauper  list  or  be  maintained  at 
the  public  expense. 

VI.  That  severe  penalties  be  inflicted  upon  those  who 
bring  to  or  leave  in  a  county  paupers  not  legally  charge- 
able to  it. 

VII.  That  street  begging  be  entirely  prohibited,  beg- 
gars of  this  description  to  be  instantly  sent  to  the  work- 
house ;  and  that  magistrates  be  subject  to  indictment  and 
punishment  for  any  neglect  of  this  duty,  and  grand  juries 
specially  charged  to  inquire  into  such  neglects  and  to  pre- 
sent such  offenders. 

Referring  to  comparative  statistics  of  the  bureau  of 
pauperism  in  different  states,  some  of  which  we  have  al- 
ready quoted,  it  is  pointed  out  that  in  Rhode  Island  and  Vir- 
ginia the  number  of  paupers  is  less  than  in  New  York  and 
in  Pennsylvania,  and  that  in  Delaware,  Rhode  Island,  and 
Virginia,  where  the  poorhouse  system  has  prevailed  for 
the  greatest  length  of  time  and  to  the  greatest  extent,  the 
burden  of  pauperism  and  the  expense  which  it  entails  are 
less  than  in  any  state  in  which  that  system  has  been  more 
recently  or  partially  introduced. 

A  few  additional  items  of  information  may  profitably  be 
culled  from  the  appendices  :  the  total  expense  of  the  city 
and  county  of  New  York  for  relief  to  the  outdoor  poor 
for  the  year  preceding  the  report  was  110,000,  while  the 
amount  expended  for  paupers  in  the  almshouse  was 
$50,908.27  ;  for  maniacs  in  the  asylum,  13332  ;  and  for 


CHAP,  ii  CAUSES   OF  PAUPERISM  ASSIGNED  291 

vagrants   in   the   Bridewell   and   penitentiary,  15321.26, 
making  a  total  of  $74,561.53. 

The  families  assisted  as  outdoor  poor  are  stated  by  the 
commissioners  to  be  composed  chiefly  of  Irish  immigrants, 
as  are  also  the  vagrants  sent  to  the  Bridewell  and  peniten- 
tiary. "  In  fact,  we  are  literally  overrun  with  this  descrip- 
tion of  paupers." 

The  following  sentiments  from  the  pen  of  S.  Allen,  Esq., 
at  that  time  mayor  of  New  York,  are  enlightening  as  to 
the  prevailing  views  on  the  causes  of  pauperism.  The 
reader  should  not  fail  to  notice  the  easy  transition  from  one 
cause  to  another  when  a  practical  remedy  is  to  be  suggested. 

"  Idleness  and  a  total  inattention  to  frugality  are  among 
the  principal  sources  of  pauperism.  There  is  a  natural 
propensity  in  men  to  inaction,  and  therefore  it  is  that  so 
many  of  those  who  are  compelled  to  depend  upon  their 
own  exertions  for  subsistence  become  paupers.  Every 
man,  however,  has  a  principle  within  himself  which,  if  not 
destroyed  by  mental  or  vicious  causes,  urges  him  to  the  full 
exertion  of  his  faculties  for  the  prevention  of  this  catas- 
trophe. A  definition  of  this  principle  may  be  given  in 
two  sentences,  to  wit,  the  desire  for  fame  and  independence, 
and  the  conscious  feeling  of  shame  and  fear  of  want.  .  .  . 

"These  evils  may,  in  a  measure,  be  remedied  and  a 
gradual  decrease  of  pauperism  (produced  by  the  inordi- 
nate use  of  spirituous  liquors)  effected.  The  article  ought 
to  be  rendered  more  inaccessible  to  consumers  by  an  in- 
crease in  its  price.  ...  In  addition  to  this  no  able-bodied 
person  ought  to  be  permitted  to  receive  the  public  bounty 
by  the  way  of  alms,  and  in  all  cases  where  it  is  practicable 
the  building  of  poorhouses  ought  to  be  discouraged." 

The  Society  for  the  Suppression  of  Pauperism,  in  its 
annual  reports  for  the  years  from  1818  to  1824,  as  might 
be  expected,  strikes  somewhat  deeper  ground,  and  lays 
down  a  programme  of  reform  and  educational  improvement 
such  as  was  scarcely  to  be  surpassed  later  by  the  associa- 
tions for  improving  the  condition  of  the  poor  and  the 
charity  organization  societies. 

The  causes  of  pauperism  are  enumerated  as  follows  :  — 
I.    Ignorance. 
II.    Idleness. 


292  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

III.  Intemperance  and  drinking. 

IV.  The  want  of  economy. 

V.    Imprudent  and  hasty  marriages. 
VI.    Lotteries. 
VII.    Pawnbroker. 

VIII.    Houses  of  ill  fame. 
IX.    Gambling-houses;  and 
X.    The  numerous  charitable  institutions  of  the  city. 

Some  of  the  remedies  suggested  are :  to  divide  the  city 
into  small  districts,  each  district  to  have  two  or  three  visitors 
to  visit  the  indigent,  etc. ;  to  establish  savings  banks,  bene- 
fit societies,  life  insurances,  etc.;  to  refuse  support  to 
paupers  who  have  not  gained  a  settlement  ;  to  procure  an 
entire  prohibition  of  street  begging ;  to  aid  in  giving  em- 
ployment to  those  who  cannot  procure  it,  by  establishing 
houses  of  employment,  or  by  supplying  materials  for 
domestic  labor  ;  to  open  places  of  public  worship  in  the 
outer  wards  ;  to  promote  Sunday-schools  ;  to  devise  a  plan 
by  which  all  spontaneous  charities  may  flow  into  one  chan- 
nel ;  to  procure  the  abolition  of  the  great  number  of  shops 
in  which  spirituous  liquors  are  sold  by  license. 

"  The  managers  recommend  the  practice  of  abstaining 
from  giving  money  to  beggars  who  usually  appropriate 
what  they  get  to  increase  the  profits  and  the  business  of 
the  dram  seller."1 

In  its  very  first  report,  that  for  the  year  1818,  there  is 
an  even  more  positive  enunciation  of  the  modern  idea. 

"  Let  the  moral  sense  be  awakened  and  the  moral  influ- 
ence be  established  in  the  minds  of  the  improvident,  the 
unfortunate,  and  the  depraved.  Let  them  be  approached 
with  kindness  and  an  ingenuous  concern  for  their  welfare  ; 
inspire  them  with  self-respect  and  encourage  their  industry 
and  economy  ;  in  short,  enlighten  their  minds  and  teach 
them  to  take  care  of  themselves.  Those  are  the  methods 
of  doing  them  real  and  permanent  good  and  relieving  the 
community  from  the  pecuniary  exactions,  the  multiplied 
exactions  and  threatening  dangers  of  which  they  are  the 
authors."2 

1  Fourth  Annual  Report,  1821. 

2  First  Annual  Report  of  the  Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Pauperism 
in  the  city  of  New  York,  1818. 


CHAP,  ii  REFORMS   IN  ADMINISTRATION  293 

The  managers  of  this  society  do  not  hesitate  to  arraign 
unwise  philanthropy  even  more  explicitly  than  by  includ- 
ing the  charitable  institutions  among  the  causes  of  pauper- 
ism. They  ascribe  the  evil  of  its  increase  "  to  the  same 
^  cause,  in  this  city  as  in  England,  viz.,  to  the  provision 
made  for  the  relief  and  maintenance  of  the  poor.  Pauper- 
ism has  increased  among  us  in  a  ratio  as  great  as  was  ever 
witnessed  in  this  country.  The  alternative  proposed  may 
appear  extravagant,  but  it  is  believed  that  genuine  human- 
ity and  benevolence  to  the  poor  themselves  would  dictate 
the  abolition  of  our  pauper  system.  ...  In  this  city  it  is 
extremely  rare  to  find  an  industrious  and  virtuous  person 
wanting  the  necessaries  or  comforts  of  life." 

Both  in  Massachusetts  and  in  New  York  good  results 
followed  the  agitation  of  which  the  Quincy  and  the  Yates 
reports  are  respectively  the  most  conspicuous  symptoms. 
Greater  discrimination  came  to  be  practised  and  a  rela- 
tively larger  part  of  the  public  relief  was  provided  in 
county  or  local  institutions  which  were  more  under  the 
public  scrutiny.  The  abundance  of  free  land  in  Western 
territories  and  the  opportunities  for  employment  for  all 
able-bodied  persons  continued  to  relieve  any  real  pressure 
of  population,  and  accordingly  there  was  little  temptation 
to  public  officials  to  make  easy  the  way  to  a  life  of  de- 
pendence upon  the  public  bounty. 

The  abolition  of  public  outdoor  relief  in  New  York 
City,  except  in  medicines  to  the  sick,  an  annual  cash 
disbursement  to  the  blind,  and  the  distribution  of  free 
coal  in  the  winter,  occurred  on  December  20,  1875,  by 
adoption  by  the  commissioners  of  charities  and  correction 
of  a  resolution  that  the  experiment  be  made  of  giving 
the  necessities  of  life  to  the  outdoor  poor  instead  of 
money  or  orders  on  grocery  stores.  A  week  later  it  was 
resolved  to  visit  all  applicants  for  relief  within  forty-eight 
hours  after  application,  and  it  was  officially  announced 
that  the  department  disclaimed  all  intention  of  aiding  the 
unworthy  poor.  Again,  on  January  10,  1876,  it  was  pro- 
posed to  visit  all  applicants  for  coal.  From  this  time 
forward  the  department  gave  coal  only,  the  previous  ap- 
propriations for  general  relief  having  been  reduced  by  the 
board  of  estimate  and  apportionment. 


294  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

It  is  a  curious  view  that  the  necessities  of  life  consist 
wholly  of  coal  and  do  not  include  food,  shelter,  or  clothing. 
It  is  also  interesting  that  one  of  the  three  commissioners 
in  office  at  the  time  this  action  was  taken,  after  twenty 
years,  although  still  employed  in  the  Department  of  Pub- 
lic Charities,  and  at  the  time  in  a  prominent  position,  was 
entirely  unable  to  recollect  the  circumstances  under  which 
the  change  was  made,  asserting  when  questioned  on  the 
subject  that  it  must  have  been  made  by  the  "reform  admin- 
istration "  of  1873 ;  nor  has  the  writer  been  able  to  find 
other  persons  who  recall  any  particular  agitation  of  the 
subject  at  the  date  when  this  action  was  taken.  No  op- 
position seems  to  have  developed,  and  during  the  quarter 
of  a  century  in  which  the  city  has  distributed  no  kind  of 
outdoor  relief  except  coal  and  the  pension  to  the  blind, 
there  has  been,  so  far  as  can  be  ascertained,  no  desire  on 
the  part  of  the  officials  of  the  Department  of  Charities  to 
go  back  to  the  early  system  ;  while  doubts  have  frequently 
been  expressed  both  by  "reformers"  and  by  "politicians" 
as  to  whether  the  distribution  of  coal  was  of  any  special 
value.  This  anomaly  was  ended  by  the  charter  of  1897 
which  created  the  Greater  New  York  by  the  consolidation 
of  Brooklyn  and  other  municipalities  with  the  old  city  of 
New  York.  Under  the  charter  public  outdoor  relief  is 
prohibited  except  that  to  the  blind. 

Brooklyn.  —  The  steps  by  which  public  outdoor  relief 
was  discontinued  in  Brooklyn  are  of  special  interest,  since, 
in  what  was  then  the  city  and  is  now  the  borough,  the 
change  was  more  complete,  the  distribution  of  fuel  being 
discontinued  at  the  same  time.  The  statistics  of  outdoor 
relief  for  Brooklyn  show,  from  the  years  1872  to  1877 
inclusive,  an  increase  of  over  100  per  cent  in  the  number 
of  beneficiaries  annually  receiving  help.  The  average  ex- 
penditure by  the  city  per  year  for  these  six  years  was 
$114,943.72,  which  includes  the  cost  of  administering  the 
relief,  this  expense  amounting  to  40  per  cent  of  the  total. 
An  average  of  39,109  persons  were  relieved  each  year. 
These  facts  became,  in  the  year  1876,  a  matter  of  public 
comment  and  aroused  general  criticism  of  the  existing  sys- 
tem. The  officers  of  relief  themselves  agreed  that  the 
system  in  its  form  at  that  time  was  pernicious,  and  that 


CHAP,  ii    OUTDOOR  RELIEF  ABOLISHED  IN  BROOKLYN        295 

the  only  way  of  preventing  a  further  increase  in  the  num- 
ber of  pauper  claimants  on  the  city  was  the  establishment 
of  a  system  of  thorough  visitation.  Such  a  system  by  paid 
officials  had  been  in  partial  operation  previous  to  this  time, 
but  had  been  abolished  because  of  unsatisfactory  results. 
At  the  time  under  discussion  the  poor  were  required  merely 
to  come  to  the  office  of  the  commissioners  and  affirm  under 
oath  that  they  needed  the  relief  for  which  they  applied. 

At  the  instigation  of  the  State  Charities  Aid  Associa- 
tion a  meeting  was  called  in  May,  1876,  for  the  purpose  of 
inaugurating  a  movement  for  volunteer  visitation  by  pri- 
vate citizens  of  all  applicants  for  public  relief  during  the 
ensuing  winter.  As  a  result  of  this  meeting  an  organi- 
zation was  formed  for  the  purpose  of  thus  assisting  the 
commissioners  of  charities.  When  this  association  was  in 
position  to  offer  its  services,  the  attention  of  the  com- 
missioners of  charities  was  officially  called  to  its  existence 
and  an  offer  was  made  to  visit  all  applicants  for  relief 
during  the  winter  of  1876-1877.  The  commissioners  did 
not  seem  to  appreciate  the  offer,  and  for  a  time  threw  serious 
obstacles  in  the  way  of  the  execution  of  the  plan.  Finally, 
under  pressure  of  public  opinion,  they  accepted  the  offer 
and  a  visitation  committee  of  between  two  hundred  and 
three  hundred  visitors  was  set  at  the  work  of  investigation. 

The  results  of  these  investigations  convinced  the  visitors 
that  many  of  the  families  applying  for  relief  were  doing  it 
habitually  from  year  to  year,  not  because  of  actual  need, 
but  because  their  neighbors  were  receiving  help,  and  be- 
cause they  considered  it  their  right.  As  a  result  of  a  dis- 
cussion held  at  the  end  of  this  winter  resolutions  were 
passed  expressing  disapproval  of  the  existing  system  and 
suggesting  to  the  commissioners  that  outdoor  relief  be 
abolished,  by  stages  if  necessary,  but  entirely  within  a  year 
or  two.  It  was  recommended  that  for  the  winter  of  1877- 
1878  the  poor  be  relieved  with  coal  only,  and  that  at  the 
end  of  this  year  even  that  could  be  discontinued. 

The  commissioners  of  charities  were  unwilling  to  adopt 
the  plan  proposed,  and  to  the  surprise  of  the  visiting  com- 
mittee, who  had  volunteered  their  services  for  the  coming 
winter,  completely  ignored  their  offer,  and  proceeded  to 
make  plans  for  the  distribution  of  relief  under  a  system 


296  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

arranged  by  themselves,  of  which  the  public  was  not 
given  information.  The  visiting  committee  brought  the 
matter  before  the  county  board  of  supervisors,  who,  hav- 
ing the  sole  right  to  vote  appropriations  for  the  supplies 
needed  by  the  commissioners  of  charities,  exercised  over 
the  distribution  of  relief  a  controlling  influence  which  the 
commissioners  of  charities  could  not  ignore.  The  super- 
visors, who  were  at  this  time  in  sympathy  with  public 
sentiment,  accepted  the  recommendations  of  the  visitation 
committee,  and  voted  to  supply  coal  only.  The  commis- 
sioners of  charities  objected  to  this,  and  the  movement  was 
left  in  an  indeterminate  state  at  the  close  of  the  year  1877. 

In  the  new  board  of  supervisors  for  1878  a  majority 
appeared  to  be  in  favor  of  a  return  to  the  old  system. 
The  reforms  proposed  were  disregarded ;  resolutions  were 
passed  supporting  the  commissioners  of  charities  in  their 
plan  to  distribute  relief  as  in  former  years,  both  provi- 
sions and  coal ;  and  the  efforts  of  the  visitation  committee 
seemed  to  have  been  completely  overthrown. 

It  was  already  known  to  the  committee,  through  pre- 
vious investigation,  that  the  distribution  of  outdoor  relief 
to  able-bodied  paupers  in  Brooklyn  was  not,  in  fact,  author- 
ized by  the  state  legislation  relating  to  the  subject.  The 
question  now  arose  as  to  whether  this  fact  should  be 
brought  up,  and  a  complete  stop  in  all  outdoor  relief  be 
forced  upon  the  supervisors  and  commissioners  of  charities, 
or  whether  they  should  be  allowed  to  go  on  without  re- 
straint in  the  old  way.  There  seemed  to  be  no  possibility 
of  a  middle  course.  It  was  decided  after  deliberation 
that,  while  the  cutting  off  of  both  coal  and  provisions 
might  entail  temporary  suffering  among  the  poor,  it  was 
yet  better  to  bring  the  matter  to  this  sharp  issue  than  to 
allow  a  resumption  of  the  former  methods.  The  question 
was  therefore  brought  to  a  legal  issue.  The  supervisors 
consulted  their  attorney,  and  found  that  the  whole  system 
of  outdoor  relief  as  in  vogue  for  years  past  was  entirely 
illegal,  as  far  as  it  related  to  able-bodied  paupers.  This, 
of  course,  overthrew  the  entire  system  in  a  moment.1 

1  It  is  necessary  to  add,  however,  that  the  city  until  1899  made  small 
annual  appropriations  to  certain  relief  societies  engaged  in  the  care  of  the 
poor  in  their  homes.  This  anomalous  policy  was  then  discontinued  on 
the  recommendation  of  the  city  controller. 


CHAP,  ii         EFFECT   ON  OTHER   RELIEF   AGENCIES 


297 


To  the  surprise  of  those  interested  in  the  private  relief 
agencies  of  the  city,  no  increasing  demand  for  aid  resulted. 
The  winter  passed  favorably,  and  no  exceptional  suffering 
seemed  to  have  appeared.  The  statistics  of  the  following 
years,  appended  below,  show  this  to  be  an  actual  fact. 
Not  only  was  there  no  additional  demand  on  private  relief 
agencies,  but  the  almshouses  of  the  county  did  not  become 
overcrowded,  as  was  anticipated.  In  short,  nowhere  along 
the  whole  line  of  relief  agencies  was  there  found  an  in- 
creased demand  upon  their  resources.  On  the  contrary, 
the  figures  show  a  steady  decrease  in  the  years  following 
1878.  Part  of  this  decrease  is  due  undoubtedly  to  the 
general  improvement  in  business  prosperity  succeeding 
the  crisis  of  1873,  which  now  began  to  take  full  effect. 
Still,  the  statistics  seem  to  indicate  that  the  abolition  of 
outdoor  relief  in  Brooklyn  resulted  in  a  real  improvement 
of  the  status  of  the  very  poor.  Aside  from  these  figures, 
so  far  has  public  sentiment  supported  the  conviction  which 
they  express  that,  for  the  twenty  years  intervening  be- 
tween 1878  and  the  present,  not  once  has  there  been  any 
agitation  in  Kings  County  for  the  resumption  of  outdoor 
relief. 


POPULATION 

OUTDOOR  RE- 
LIEF, 
PERSONS  AIDED 

INDOOR  RE- 
LIEF, 
PERSONS  AIDED 

COST  OP 
OUTDOOR  RELIEF 

AMOUNT  DIS- 
TRIBUTED BY  THE 
ASSOCIATION 
FOR  IMPROVING 
THE  CONDITION 

OF  THE  POOR 

1870 

396,000 

38,170 

8,542 

$163,437 

$21,851 

1871 

414,000 

35,658 

9,234 

141,208 

22,011 

1872 

432,000 

22,863 

8,999 

95,771 

21,821 

1873 

450,000 

25,033 

7,487 

100,555 

22,211 

1874 

468,000 

30,411 

7,343 

134,935 

23,466 

1875 

485,000 

35,850 

7,923 

116,967 

24,336 

1876 

501,000 

44,208 

9,155 

98,815 

23,000 

1877 

518,000 

46,330 

9,268 

141,137 

20,818 

1878 

534,000 

46,093 

9,706 

57,054 

18,824 

1879 

551,000 

stopped 

10,231 

stopped 

16,640 

1880 

557,000 

8,736 

14,774 

1881 

584,000 

10,347 

17,716 

1882 

601,000 

11,121 

18,050 

1883 

619,000 

11,678 

22,246 

1884 

639,000 

11,190 

19,061 

298  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

Washington.  —  In  Washington  the  only  public  outdoor 
relief  has  been  that  distributed  through  the  police  depart- 
ment. There  are  no  officials  connected  with  the  chari- 
table administration  of  the  District  of  Columbia  exactly 
corresponding  to  the  charities  commissioners,  overseers  of 
the  poor,  or  similar  officials  in  other  cities.  The  position 
of  superintendent  of  charities  was  created  on  August  6, 
1890,  "for  the  purpose  of  securing  more  equitable  and 
efficient  expenditure  of  the  several  sums  appropriated  for 
charities."  All  appropriations  for  charitable  purposes 
were  expended  under  his  general  direction,  and  in  con- 
formity with  a  system  or  plan  formulated  by  him,  subject 
to  the  approval  of  the  commissioners  of  the  district,  but 
the  relief  of  destitute  persons  in  their  own  homes  was  not 
made  a  part  of  the  duty  of  the  superintendent  or  of  his 
subordinates.  In  1900  a  board  of  charities  was  created 
to  discharge  the  duties  formerly  devolving  on  the  superin- 
tendent. A  lump  sum  has  usually  been  appropriated  by 
Congress  "for  relief  of  the  poor."  For  the  fiscal  year 
ending  June  30,  1897,  this  amount  was  $13,000.  It  was 
distributed  by  the  commissioners  of  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, in  accordance  with  the  recommendation  of  the  super- 
intendent of  charities,  as  follows :  — 

For  physicians  to  the  poor $7,200 

For  medicines  and  printing  prescriptions  for  the  physicians 

to  the  poor        ....  ....        3,400 

For  the  woman's  dispensary 


For  the  aged  women's  home 
For  coffins  for  the  indigent  dead 


500 
300 
300 


For  emergency  relief  of  cases  investigated  through  the  police 
department  on  order  of  the  commissioners  of  the  District 
of  Columbia,  on  recommendation  of  the  superintendent 
of  charities,  to  be  distributed  in  provisions,  fuel,  or  cloth- 
ing through  the  police 1,300 

Total,    $13,000 

The  only  part  of  this  expenditure  which  corresponds 
with  ordinary  public  outdoor  relief  is  the  $1300  desig- 
nated for  emergency  relief  through  the  police  department. 
This  allowance  from  the  public  treasury  was  usually  con- 
siderably increased  by  private  donations.  In  the  winter 
of  1894-1895  the  citizens'  relief  committee,  which  consists 


CHAP,  ii  DISTRIBUTION  BY  THE   POLICE  299 

of  private  citizens  acting  upon  invitation  of  the  commis- 
sioners, gave  through  the  police  department  $6284.26, 
one-fourth  of  the  total  amount  disbursed  by  the  relief 
committee  in  that  year. 

After  much  discussion  of  the  relative  advantage  and 
disadvantage  of  this  method  of  relief,  on  January  15, 1898, 
was  adopted  the  following  order  by  the  Commissioners  of 
the  District. 

"  Ordered :  That  allotments  for  relief  of  the  poor,  such 
as  have  been  heretofore  distributed  through  the  metro- 
politan police  force,  shall  hereafter  be  distributed  through 
the  Associated  Charities  under  the  direction  of  the  central 
relief  committee." 

Four  days  earlier  by  a  special  order  the  commissioners 
had  transferred  one  thousand  dollars  ($1000),  the  unal- 
lotted balance  of  the  current  appropriation  of  the  thirteen 
hundred  dollars  ($1300)  referred  to  above,  to  the  central 
relief  committee,  so  that  since  the  beginning  of  1898  police 
distribution  of  public  relief  has  been  a  thing  of  the  past. 
The  sole  reason  for  this  change,  according  to  the  chief  of 
police  and  the  commissioner  who  has  the  police  depart- 
ment especially  in  charge,  is  that  the  work  of  investigating 
and  relieving  destitute  families  is  not  a  police  duty,  does 
not  properly  belong  to  the  police  department,  and  seriously 
interferes  with  the  legitimate  work  of  the  police  depart- 
ment. Other  than  these  purely  negative  objections  have 
been  urged  by  others,  but  the  reason  assigned  is  that 
which  actuated  the  board.  It  is  understood  that  in  the 
police  force  itself  the  distribution  was  naturally  looked 
upon  with  some  favor  in  view  of  the  opportunity  which  it 
gave  to  win  friends,  and  to  remove  whatever  unpopularity 
might  attach  to  the  ordinary  work  of  enforcing  laws.  It 
is  obvious  that  whatever  objections  there  are  to  public 
outdoor  relief  are  intensified  in  this  particular  system. 
Outdoor  relief  by  police  officers  not  only  tends  to  demor- 
alize its  recipients,  but  obscures  the  clear  conception  of 
duty  which  is  essential  to  guardians  of  the  peace. 

Baltimore.  —  In  Baltimore  the  police  was  formerly  em- 
ployed, as  in  Washington,  to  aid  destitute  families.  No 
Eart  of  the  money  used  for  this  purpose  came,  however, 
rom  the  public  treasury.  Newspapers  and  private  citizens 


300  PRINCIPLES   OF   BELIEF  PART  in 

supplied  the  funds.  On  January  12, 1898,  representatives 
of  the  principal  relief  agencies  of  the  cities  petitioned  the 
board  of  police  commissioners  to  discourage  as  far  as  pos- 
sible the  sending  of  money  and  supplies  to  the  poor.  A  let- 
ter was  received  in  reply  to  the  petition,  giving  the  position 
of  the  board  as  follows  :  — 

"...  That  the  large  increase  in  the  area  of  the  city, 
in  the  number  of  buildings  therein,  and  in  its  population, 
has  imposed  upon  the  police  department  so  much  additional 
work  that  it  is  very  desirable  that  it  should  be  relieved  as 
far  as  possible  of  all  services  other  than  those  which  are 
strictly  police  duties,  and  I  am  directed  by  the  board  to 
advise  you  that  while  it  will  not  refuse  to  accept  and  dis- 
tribute such  contributions  as  may  be  made  by  our  citizens, 
we  very  much  prefer,  for  the  reason  above  given,  now 
that  the  organized  charities  of  the  city  have  so  perfected 
their  organizations  and  enlarged  their  facilities  as  to  be 
able  to  handle  all  contributions  to  advantage,  that  those 
who  have  heretofore  asked  the  police  department  to  dis- 
pense their  contributions  should  send  them  instead  to 
some  one  or  more  of  the  organized  charities  of  Baltimore, 
a  number  of  which  you  represent." 

The  new  charter  of  the  city  of  Baltimore  in  1898 
reorganized  its  charitable  administration.  It  made  no 
change,  however,  in  the  long-established  policy  of  the  city 
confining  public  relief  to  that  given  in  the  almshouse  or 
in  private  institutions,  but,  on  the  contrary,  by  its  terms 
expressly  prohibits  adult  outdoor  relief. 

Philadelphia.  —  Philadelphia,  unlike  Washington  and 
Baltimore,  has  been  familiar  with  the  system  of  public  out- 
door relief,  though  it  was  discontinued  there  after  the  corre- 
sponding change  which  has  been  described  in  Brooklyn. 
Its  abolition  in  Philadelphia  is  thus  described  by  Charles 
D.  Kellogg,  who  aided  in  the  establishment  of  the  Phila- 
delphia Society  for  Organizing  Charity,  and  who  soon  suc- 
ceeded his  brother,  Rev.  D.  O.  Kellogg,  as  secretary  :  — 

On  January  18, 1878,  several  gentlemen  connected  with 
the  soup  houses  and  some  of  the  other  relief  agencies  of 
Philadelphia  met  informally  to  consult  concerning  means 
by  which  all  the  charities  of  the  city  "might  be  protected 
from  the  countless  impositions  practised  upon  them."  A 


CHAP,  ii  EXPERIENCE   OF  PHILADELPHIA  301 

general  meeting  of  managers  and  trustees  of  charitable 
enterprises  of  the  city  was  called.  At  that  meeting  a 
committee  embracing  representatives  of  all  the  leading 
charities  of  the  city  was  appointed  to  consider  and  report 
on  the  whole  subject.  The  committee  included  Joshua  L. 
Baily,  Rudolph  Blankenburg,  Philip  C.  Garrett,  Thomas  S. 
Harrison,  William  W.  Justice,  Charles  Spencer,  and  James 
A.  Wright,  who  a  few  years  later  were  members  of  the 
famous  committee  of  one  hundred,  which  did  much  at  that 
time  to  stem  the  tide  of  political  corruption. 

The  committee's  report  was  laid  before  a  general  meet- 
ing of  citizens  on  June  13  of  the  same  year.  One  of  the 
reasons  given  by  them  for  a  radical  reform  in  the  general 
administration  of  all  relief  agencies  was  the  inefficiency 
and  corruption  which  pervaded  the  city  outdoor  relief 
as  distributed  by  the  official  visitors  of  the  guardians  of 
the  poor.  "  The  public  has  but  slight  acquaintance  with 
their  work  and  no  sympathy  for  it.  They  are  regarded 
with  more  or  less  distrust  which  is  often  based  on  ignorance 
and  makes  no  allowance  for  the  peculiar  legal  embarrass- 
ments they  encounter,  such  as  their  obligation  to  provide 
for  all  who  come  to  them  without  visible  means  of  support. 
The  best  of  the  officials  intrusted  with  the  management 
of  the  system  would,  we  are  assured,  be  glad  to  find  the 
people  of  the  city  showing  some  sense  of  responsibility  for 
their  work,  and  helping  to  set  them  free  from  such  a  legal 
subjection  to  imposture  by  a  complete  system  of  voluntary 
visitation  and  inquiry." 

The  committee  proposed  the  organization  of  a  society  to 
be  called  "  The  Philadelphia  Society  for  Organizing  Char- 
itable Relief  and  Repressing  Mendicancy,"  which  should 
constitute  a  central  agency,  through  which  all  the  public 
and  private  charities  of  the  city  might  work  for  mutual 
protection,  economy,  and  efficiency.  This  somewhat  for- 
midable and  impressive  action  created  much  anxiety  and 
corresponding  opposition  among  the  political  dispensers 
of  the  official  relief  from  the  city  treasury,  who  resented 
interference  with  so  profitable  an  instrument  of  political 
patronage  ;  and  professional  politicians  began  to  devise 
means  to  strangle  the  reform  at  its  birth.  To  crush  the  pre- 
tensions of  the  new  society  —  that  by  a  better  adjustment 


PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF 


and  coordination  of  all  public  and  private  charity,  the 
claims  and  needs  of  the  dependent  classes  could  be  more 
adequately  and  economically  met  —  it  leaked  out  that  it 
was,  in  the  following  year  (1879),  determined  by  its 
enemies  to  suspend  the  twelve  paid  visitors,  who  were  the 
dispensers  of  the  $ 50,000  to  175,000  previously  appropri- 
ated annually  to  the  overseers  of  the  poor  for  outdoor 
relief,  and  taking  the  new-born  enterprise  at  its  word, 
to  throw  upon  it  the  whole  burden  of  relieving  those 
who  for  years  had  applied  to  the  city  for  coal,  groceries, 
etc.,  and  had  received  doles  from  the  visitors.  The  new 
society  began  in  November,  1878,  and  the  following 
year  the  city's  winter  budget  cut  off  all  customary  pro- 
vision for  the  city  outdoor  relief,  and  citizens  were  re- 
quested to  refer  all  applicants  for  relief,  not  otherwise 
provided  for,  to  the  new  society,  which  bravely  under- 
took the  burden.  It  was  urged  that  such  a  change  would 
increase  the  suffering  among  the  poor,  would  swamp  the 
voluntary  relief  societies,  and,  by  filling  the  almshouse  to 
overflowing,  would  increase  the  expenses  of  the  indoor 
departments  of  the  guardians  of  the  poor  far  beyond  the 
amount  which  would  be  saved  by  abolishing  the  outdoor 
relief. 

The  results  may  thus  be  summarized.  When  the  first 
winter  was  passed,  and  its  work  was  reviewed,  it  was  found 
that  the  number  of  applicants  heretofore  receiving  city  re- 
lief, and  applying  to  the  new  as  well  as  to  the  older  relief 
societies,  was,  after  the  first  sixty  days,  too  small  for  com- 
putation ;  that  the  general  relief  societies  discovered  no 
appreciable  increase  of  the  demands  upon  them  ;  and  that 
the  almshouse  population  had  diminished  to  such  an  extent 
that  the  expenses  of  the  overseers  were  reduced  by  $23,900. 
The  total  saving  in  the  first  ten  years  after,  as  compared 
with  the  ten  years  before,  the  abolition  of  outdoor  relief 
was  an  average  of  $99,652  a  year,  notwithstanding  the 
city's  rapid  increase  in  population  ;  and  the  fourth  annual 
report  of  the  Society  for  Organizing  Charity  noted  a 
marked  decrease  of  vagrancy  and  street  begging  apparent 
throughout  the  city. 

Other  accounts  differ  from  that  given  by  Mr.  Kellogg 
in  assigning  the  necessity  for  economizing  as  the  chief  rea- 


• 

CHAP,  n  DISCUSSION  IN  BOSTON  303 

son  for  the  change  of  system,  but,  whatever  the  motive,  it 
is  clear  that  the  change  was  not  made  at  the  direct  request 
of  the  society,  or  as  the  result  of  sentiment  against  out- 
door relief  created  by  direct  agitation.  Whatever  the 
causes  that  brought  about  the  discontinuance  of  outdoor 
relief,  the  past  twenty-five  years  have  witnessed  a  complete 
acquiescence  in  the  present  plan.  In  the  severe  winter 
of  1894  a  large  relief  fund  was  collected  under  the  direc- 
tion of  the  voluntary  u mayor's  committee."  There  was, 
however,  no  proposition  in  the  city  councils  to  reestablish 
outdoor  relief,  and  the  Department  of  Charities  and  Cor- 
rection would  have  been  quick  to  oppose  any  such  proposi- 
tion if  it  had  been  made.  There  has  been  no  distribution 
of  relief  funds  through  the  police  department  since  1894, 
when  a  small  sum  contributed  by  private  citizens  was 
placed  in  its  hands. 

Boston.  —  In  the  city  of  Boston  the  discussion  on  the  sub- 
ject of  outdoor  relief  reached  an  acute  stage  in  the  year 
1888,  when  a  committee  of  the  board  of  overseers  ^of  the 
poor  visited  Brooklyn,  New  York,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore, 
and  Washington  to  confer  with  persons  interested  in  pub- 
lic and  private  charity  on  the  subject.  All  of  these  cities 
had  been  without  any  general  system  of  outdoor  relief  for 
at  least  ten  years.  In  a  pamphlet  published  by  the  board, 
the  committee  reports  its  observations  in  the  cities  visited 
and  its  conclusion  that  a  change  from  the  system  then  in 
vogue  in  Boston  to  that  of  any  of  the  cities  visited  would 
be  a  change  for  the  worse.  Special  prominence  is  given  to 
that  part  of  the  report  which  deals  with  Brooklyn.  Stress 
is  laid  upon  the  large  amount  annually  donated  from  the 
public  treasury  to  private  charitable  institutions,  including 
a  payment  of  from  1110,000  to  1140,000  per  year  for  the 
board  of  children.  This  system  was  believed  by  the  com- 
mittee to  be  much  more  harmful  than  outdoor  relief  as 
managed  in  Boston.  The  committee  also  points  out  that 
the  principal  private  relief  society  gave  on  an  average  but 
$1.54  a  year  to  a  family,  of  which  one-fourth  came  from 
the  public  purse.  The  committee  makes  the  pertinent 
suggestion  that  if  the  contention  of  the  critic  of  outdoor 
relief  is  valid,  that  the  $10  or  f  12  provided  by  the  over- 
seers of  the  poor  could  be  discontinued  without  injury,  it 


304  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

would  be  equally  possible  for  the  poor  of  Brooklyn  to  do 
without  the  $1.54  supplied  by  the  private  society,  and  that 
if  only  this  amount  stands  between  them  and  independence, 
it  would  be  very  desirable  for  Brooklyn  to  give  up  private 
relief  entirely.  Arguing  the  matter  more  seriously  the 
committee  thinks  that  the  amount  provided  is  not  sufficient 
to  prevent  suffering,  and  that  in  many  instances  families 
are  broken  up  unnecessarily,  while  a  large  amount  of  indi- 
vidual aid  is  probably  given  with  little  or  no  investigation. 

Alfred  T.  White,  in  letters  published  in  Lend-a-Hand, 
contested  the  last  point,  quoting  testimony  to  the  effect 
that  alms  were  asked  less  frequently  than  before  outdoor 
relief  was  discontinued.  Mr.  White  also  insists  that  there 
is  no  connection  between  the  number  of  dependent  chil- 
dren and  outdoor  relief,  or  that  if  there  is  any,  the  relation 
of  the  system  of  public  outdoor  relief  to  dependency  is 
similar  to  that  which  it  bears  to  adult  indoor  relief;  i.e.  to 
augment  the  amount  of  dependency  in  both  forms.  Ben- 
jamin Pettee,  secretary  of  the  board  of  overseers,  replied 
to  Mr.  White's  first  letter,  but  made  no  reply  to  the  fuller 
presentation  of  statistics  and  opinions  contained  in  Mr. 
White's  second  letter,  dated  March  7,  1889. 

One  of  the  final  paragraphs  of  the  Boston  report  of  1888 
should  be  quoted  in  full,  as  it  contains  a  prophecy  which 
singularly  failed  of  fulfilment,  as  shown  by  the  experience 
of  Philadelphia  in  1894  :  - 

"  It  may  be  that  no  great  suffering  will  ensue  under  the 
present  system  in  Philadelphia,  but  your  committee  fear 
that,  if  funds  are  short  now  in  good  times,  a  panic  like  that 
of  1873  would  make  it  absolutely  necessary  for  the  public 
funds  to  be  drawn  upon ;  it  would  work  like  a  two-edged 
sword,  reducing  the  means  of  those  who  usually  support 
the  private  societies,  and  largely  increasing  the  number  of 
needy  ones.  In  Boston  the  cases  aided  in  the  years  suc- 
ceeding 1873  were  nearly  double  the  number  aided  now, 
although,  in  the  fifteen  years,  the  population  has  increased 
about  one-third." 

If  the  report  of  the  Boston  overseers  did  not  fully  con- 
vince the  residents  of  Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  and  other 
cities  that  they  had  made  a  mistake  in  abolishing  outdoor 
relief,  it  seems  to  have  had  a  quieting  effect  on  any  agita- 


CHAP,  n     ARGUMENTS   IN  FAVOR   OF   OUTDOOR   RELIEF     305 

tion  toward  the  same  end  at  home,  and  in  the  period  since 
the  report  was  published  there  appears  not  to  have  devel- 
oped any  very  general  sentiment  against  outdoor  relief. 
Several  of  the  active  workers  in  the  Associated  Charities, 
if  not  converted  from  their  earlier  faith,  have  at  least  come 
to  acquiesce  in  the  present  system  as  not  likely  soon  to  be 
radically  changed.  Some  have  gone  farther,  and  doubt 
whether  Dr.  F.  H.  Wines J  may  not  be  right  in  pronounc- 
ing opposition  to  outdoor  relief  a  ufad"  and  insisting  that 
the  whole  question  is  one  of  administration.  Certainly 
the  administration  of  relief  is  excellently  conducted  by  the 
board  of  overseers  and  its  efficient  secretary.  Among  the 
recent  members  of  the  board  are  the  wife  of  a  governor 
of  the  state  and  two  presidents  of  district  conferences  of 
the  Associated  Charities. 

Benjamin  Pettee,  who  has  served  the  board  of  overseers 
as  secretary  for  over  thirty  years,  is  a  vigorous  advocate  of 
public  outdoor  relief,  and  may  be  said  to  represent  the 
views  of  the  majority  of  the  board  in  maintaining  the  gen- 
eral position  taken  by  the  special  committee  in  1888.  The 
arguments  in  favor  of  outdoor  relief  urged  by  Mr.  Pettee 
are,  first,  that  it  avoids  the  necessity  for  breaking  up  fami- 
lies and  substituting  institutional  care  of  children  for  the 
more  natural  oversight  of  parents ;  second,  that  it  may  be 
made  adequate  and  uniform,  and  that  its  burdens  are  fairly 
distributed,  while  private  relief  is  spasmodic,  rests  entirely 
upon  charitably  disposed  persons,  and  may  fail  entirely 
because  of  shrinking  income  at  the  very  time  when  desti- 
tution is  greatest  and  the  need  of  relief  most  pressing. 

In  reply  to  the  argument  most  frequently  urged  by  op- 
ponents of  outdoor  relief,  that  a  sense  of  the  right  to  relief 
overcomes  the  natural  sense  of  disgrace  in  receiving  help, 
the  secretary  urges  that  this  objection  applies  equally  to 
relief  funds  in  the  hands  of  private  societies.  Applicants 
feel  that  they  have  a  right  to  such  relief,  since  it  was  con- 
tributed to  relieve  destitution  and  was  not  a  gift  to  particu- 
lar families.  Mr.  Pettee  thinks  that  in  cities  which  have 
no  public  outdoor  relief  there  is  more  begging,2  and  that 

1  Similar  views  have  been  expressed  by  F.  B.  Sanborn  and  others. 

2  The  author  is  convinced  that  the  contrary  is  the  case. 


PRINCIPLES   OF   BELIEF 


there  are,  in  fact,  many  families  in  need  of  relief  who  do 
not  get  it.  It  is  admitted,  however,  that  there  are  no  statis- 
tics and  no  carefully  recorded  observations  that  will  enable 
us  to  decide  whether  or  not  this  is  correct.  When  asked 
whether,  if  public  outdoor  relief  were  discontinued  in  Bos- 
ton, a  large  majority  of  the  families  who  are  now  being 
aided  would  not  be  able  to  take  care  of  themselves,  Mr. 
Pettee  frankly  admits  that  many  of  the  families  could  do 
so,  but  insists  that  it  is  very  questionable  indeed  whether 
it  is  advisable  that  they  should  be  compelled  to  do  without 
the  assistance  that  is  now  given.  The  diminished  income 
would,  he  thinks,  result  in  deprivation  of  necessary  food, 
shelter,  and  clothing.  Since  it  is  largely  widows  with 
small  children  who  would  thus  suffer,  Mr.  Pettee  insists 
that  the  probability  of  their  being  able  to  get  along  with- 
out the  relief  which  they  now  obtain  is  not  a  sufficient  rea- 
son for  abolishing  it.  A  safeguard  against  the  undue 
increase  of  public  outdoor  relief  is  found  in  the  universal 
repugnance  to  being  classed  as  paupers.  Many  persons 
who  would  strive  to  maintain  their  independence  as  against 
public  aid  are  less  unwilling  to  apply  at  the  office  of  pri- 
vate societies,  and  the  road  to  pauperism  is  thus  made 
easier  by  the  private  relief  societies  than  by  the  system  of 
outdoor  relief. 

Such  are  the  arguments  in  favor  of  the  present  system. 
It  is  admitted  that  a  lax  and  inefficient  system  of  ad- 
ministration may  result  in  widespread  demoralization, 
and  that  under  the  best  conditions  it  is  difficult  to  avoid 
political  influence  both  in  the  actual  distribution  of  relief 
and  in  the  appointment  of  overseers  and  visitors.  There 
is  some  difference  of  opinion  as  to  the  extent  to  which 
politics  enters  into  the  present  distribution  of  relief  in 
Boston,  but  a  conservative  judgment,  based  upon  interviews 
with  persons  competent  to  testify,  is  that  the  political 
element  is  not  entirely  absent,  and  there  are  clear  indi- 
cations that  the  overseers  are  oftentimes  not  so  strict 
in  the  application  of  their  principles  as  is  required  by  the 
welfare  of  the  families  concerned.  The  following  table 
shows  that  there  has  been  a  considerable  diminution  in  the 
amount  of  relief  distributed  relatively  to  the  population 
and  a  still  more  marked  decrease  in  the  number  of  families 


CHAP,  ii          OPPOSITION  TO  THE   BOSTON   SYSTEM 


307 


aided,  resulting  in  an  increase  during  the  decade  ending 
1890  of  70  per  cent  in  the  amount  of  money  given  to 
each  family  aided  :  — 

OUTDOOR  RELIEF,  BOSTON 

The  amounts  given  do  not  include  what  was  paid  other  cities  and 
towns  for  relief  of  Boston  poor  living  therein  or  amounts  expended 
for  burials. 


YEAR  ENDING 

AMOUNT 

FAMILIES 
IN  BOSTON 

AVERAGE 

POPULATION 

Apr.  30,  1877 

$80,341.89 

6,627 

$12.12 

341,919  (1875) 

1878 

66,926.66 

5,586 

«    1879 

59,975.64 

5,317 

1880 

56,777.36 

4,277 

13.28 

362,839 

1881 

57,178.35 

4,397 

"    1882 

57,563.26 

3,999 

14.39 

1883 

58,117.67 

3,953 

1884 

60,475.00 

3,854 

«    1885 

64,292.96 

4,132 

15.55 

390,393 

1886 

57,876.57 

3,459 

1887 

56,508.63 

3,028 

18.66 

1888 

58,397.70 

2,953 

19.78 

1889 

60,719.80 

2,752 

1890 

56,414.96 

2,509 

22.48 

448,477 

Dec.  31,  1890,  8  mo. 

36,509.06 

1,837 

Jan.  31,  1892,  13  mo. 

59,451.59 

2,578 

1893 

55,144.04 

2,440 

22.60 

"    1894 

63,479.38 

3,632 

"    1895 

75,900.47 

4,006 

18.95 

496,920 

1896 

71,326.00 

3,196 

«    1897 

67,821.41 

2,998 

"    1898 

68,289.13 

3,076 

22.20 

"    1899 

71,386.67 

3,394 

21.03 

«    1900 

64,502.45 

2,863 

22.53 

560,892 

1901 

63,298.30 

2,707 

23.38 

"    1902 

64,391.41 

2,637 

24.42 

1903 

63,499.14 

2,420 

26.24 

1904 

70,041.91 

2,346 

29.86 

Opposition  to  outdoor  relief  in  Boston  has  by  no  means 
disappeared.  In  one  district  the  Associated  Charities 
regularly  relieve  the  overseers  of  the  care  of  all  families 
residing  within  the  district  who  apply  to  the  society  for 
aid.  This  plan  works  admirably.  The  secretary  of  the 
board  of  overseers  says  that  complaints  are  rare,  and  when 


308  PRINCIPLES  OF  BELIEF  PART  in 

they  are  made  are  found  on  investigation  to  be  without 
foundation.  Miss  Zilpha  D.  Smith,  who  was  for  many 
years  general  secretary  of  the  Associated  Charities,  and 
others  who  have  watched  closely  the  operations  of  the 
system,  are  uncompromising  opponents.  It  has  even  been 
suggested  that  the  improved  administration  may  have  been 
a  misfortune,  since  it  has  not  removed  the  fundamental 
evil,  while  it  has  removed  some  of  the  arguments  which 
were  found  to  be  effective  in  other  cities.  This,  however, 
is  obviously  a  partisan  view  as  it  can  hardly  have  been  a 
mistake  to  improve  the  constitution  of  the  board.  There 
is  constantly  in  progress  an  education  of  individual  over- 
seers in  the  principles  that  should  govern  the  relief  of 
destitution  and  this  in  itself  is  a  valuable  result. 

The  overseers  of  the  poor  do  not  have  charge  of  the 
almshouse  or  other  charitable  institutions,  but  only  of  the 
care  of  the  poor  in  their  own  homes.  This  introduces 
peculiar  difficulties,  since,  if  outdoor  relief  is  refused,  there 
is  no  certainty  of  admission  to  the  almshouse,  the  latter 
being  dependent  upon  the  discretion  of  a  separate  board. 
The  overseers,  however,  may  impose  any  conditions  on  the 
receipt  of  outdoor  relief,  and  excellent  use  has  been  made 
of  a  wood  yard,  which  is  maintained  by  the  overseers  for 
the  double  purpose  of  employing  able-bodied  men  whose 
families  are  in  receipt  of  outdoor  relief  and  providing  an 
opportunity  for  homeless  men  to  earn  shelter  and  meals 
in  the  adjoining  wayfarers'  lodge. 

The  position  of  those  who  desire  to  abolish  outdoor 
relief  is  briefly  as  follows  :  — 

No  manipulation  of  relief  funds,  however  ingenious  and 
complete,  can  do  much  except  incidentally  to  improve  the 
condition  of  the  poor.  Incidentally,  by  being  ever  at  hand 
to  prevent  men  from  experiencing  the  results  of  their  own 
actions  and  interfering  between  cause  and  effect,  both 
private  and  public  relief  exert  an  enormous  influence  on 
the  character  of  the  poor  —  often  an  evil  influence.  The 
system  of  relief,  however,  may  be  made  educational,  in- 
culcating thrift,  prudence,  and  self-restraint,  reenforcing 
the  natural  instincts  of  self-preservation.  It  is  very  much 
more  difficult  to  make  public  relief  serve  this  purpose  than 
private  relief.  Discrimination  is  difficult  on  the  part  of 


CHAP,  ii  ARGUMENTS  OF  THE   OPPONENTS  309 

public  authorities,  and  there  is  an  almost  irresistible  ten- 
dency to  increase  the  amount  disbursed,  and  an  even  more 
pronounced  tendency  to  increase  the  number  of  recipients. 
The  abolition  of  outdoor  relief  does  not  increase  destitution, 
since  a  large  proportion  of  those  who  are  at  present 
receiving  aid  will  be  found  not  to  require  help,  but  will 
develop  resources  of  their  own.  Those  who  remain  may 
be  adequately  dealt  with  by  the  organized  and  individual 
benevolence  of  the  city.  If  relief  from  the  taxes  should 
be  confined  to  that  given  in  institutions,  every  one,  good 
or  bad,  would  know  that  when  he  reached  the  end  of  his 
means  he  could  find  shelter,  food,  and  clothing,  all  the 
necessaries  of  life,  in  the  almshouse ;  and  since  he  would 
be  sure  of  finding  them  there  only,  where  at  best  life  is 
unattractive,  he  would  be  stimulated  to  supply  these 
necessaries  for  himself  when  possible.  Relatives  also 
would  be  led  to  do  more  for  those  unable  to  support 
themselves.  Private  societies  and  individuals  could  then 
confine  their  relief  to  the  exceptional  families  where  past 
thrift  or  the  expectation  of  self-support  in  the  near  future 
makes  interference  by  private  philanthropy  desirable. 

The  chief  argument  against  outdoor  relief,  however,  is 
that  from  experience.  The  five  leading  cities  of  the  sea- 
board, New  York,  Brooklyn,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and 
Washington,  counting  Brooklyn  as  a  separate  city,  have 
found  it  possible  to  care  for  their  poor  without  outdoor 
relief,  and,  it  would  appear,  without  serious  disadvan- 
tages. In  Western  cities,  while  there  have  been  fewer 
successful  attempts  to  abolish  entirely  such  relief,  stricter 
administration,  and  a  decrease  in  the  total  amount  dis- 
bursed, have  been  found  to  be  advantageous.1  In  the 
cities  which  have  tried  both  plans  the  number  of  persdhs 
in  the  almshouses  is  diminished  when  there  is  no  outdoor 
relief,  and  there  is  no  noticeable  increase  in  the  amount  of 
alms  given  by  private  individuals  or  relief  agencies. 

In  common  with  the  other  colonies,  Massachusetts  in- 
herited from  England  the  general  system  of  poor  relief 
which  prevailed  in  that  country  in  the  last  century.  The 
present  Massachusetts  poor  law  recognizes,  as  does  the 

1  The  experience  of  Indianapolis  in  this  direction  is  especially  in- 
structive. 


310  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

English  law,  "a  right  to  relief."      The  language  is  as 
follows :  — 

"  Every  city  and  town  shall  relieve  and  support  all  poor 
and  indigent  persons  lawfully  settled  therein  whenever 
they  stand  in  need  thereof.  The  overseers  of  the  poor 
shall  have  the  care  and  oversight  of  all  such  poor  and 
indigent  persons  so  long  as  they  remain  at  the  charge  of 
their  respective  cities  and  towns,  and  shall  see  that  they 
are  suitably  relieved,  supported,  and  employed,  either  in 
the  workhouse  or  almshouse,  or  in  such  other  manner  as 
the  city  or  town  directs,  or  otherwise  at  the  discretion 
of  said  overseers." 

The  words  in  which  Thomas  Mackay  sums  up  the  ob- 
jections to  public  outdoor  relief  are  more  severe  than 
should  be  applied  in  some  American  communities,  although 
they  are  amply  illustrated  in  others  :  — 

"  From  a  variety  of  causes  —  the  general  sentimentality 
of  the  times,  the  ignorance  of  local  administrators,  the 
pressure  of  a  population  which  does  not  contribute  to, 
but  hopes  to  share  in,  the  general  largesse,  the  corruption 
of  politicians  who  regard  the  poor  rate  as  a  mere  election- 
eering fund  —  the  poor  law,  as  administered  throughout 
the  greater  part  of  the  country,  is  simply  a  disaster  to  the 
best  interests  of  the  poorer  classes,  and  succeeds  in  main- 
taining a  head  of  pauperism  which,  though  it  continues 
to  decrease,  is  still  a  disgrace  to  the  intelligence  of  the 
country.  The  system  multiplies  the  number  and  per- 
petuates the  poverty  of  the  poor." 

The  objections  which  to  the  writer  appear  conclusive 
against  the  distribution  of  outdoor  relief  from  the  public 
treasury  may  be  summarized  as  follows  :  — 

•I.  Under  modern  conditions  private  philanthropy  is  a 
safer,  more  stable,  and  more  generous  source  of  supply 
than  taxation.  Experience  does  not  seem  to  confirm  the 
fear  that  private  relief  is  untrustworthy  in  times  of  special 
distress.  It  is  when  there  is  well-founded  conviction  of 
exceptional  distress  that  the  purse-strings  of  the  charitable 
are  most  freely  loosened,  and  to  assume  that  it  will  be 
otherwise  is  to  doubt  the  most  fundamental  and  the  most 
general  of  all  human  instincts.  It  is  not  the  ordinary 
taxpayer  alone,  but  the  millionnaire  also,  who  holds  the 


CHAP,  ii  INHERENT  OBJECTIONS  811 

key  to  the  immediately  available  surplus  from  which  our 
universities,  our  art  galleries,  our  libraries,  and  our  relief 
funds  of  various  kinds  are  to  be  enriched.  There  are  un- 
doubtedly sources  of  taxation  which  may  be  drawn  upon 
more  fully  for  the  public  good,  and  to  these  public  hospi- 
tals, almshouses,  and  other  institutions  should  look  for 
their  share  —  proportionate  to  their  needs. 
•II.  A  salient  fact  is,  secondly,  that  private  charity  is 
not  very  likely  to  undertake  to  do  what  the  public  does, 
even  if  imperfectly.  As  a  means  then,  of  encouraging 
and  leaving  the  field  clear  for  private  initiative,  as  a  means 
of  preventing  any  confusion  of  thought  on  the  part  of  the 
public  as  to  what  is  and  what  is  not  done  by  the  state  or 
its  subdivisions,  as  a  means  of  marking  off  clearly  the 
functions  of  private  relief  and  public  relief  —  those  who 
do  not  believe  in  public  outdoor  relief  would  draw  a  sharp 
line  between  the  two.  We  would  ask  the  state  to  care,  in 
appropriate  institutions,  for  those  who  are  recognized  as 
needing  institutional  care  —  those  who  can  be  dealt  with 
in  large  classes  —  especially  the  defective  and  the  insane, 
the  sick,  and  again  especially  those  who  have  contagious 
diseases,  or  diseases  dangerous  to  the  community. 

III.  Miss  M.  E.  Richmond  has  suggested  that  the  state 
should  care  for  those  for  whom  control  as  well  as  support 
is  required ;  and  this  again  would  lead  us  to  leave  outdoor 
relief  to  private  initiative.     Of  course  it  would  not  follow 
that  the  entire  burden  of  support  and  training  for  these 
designated  classes  should  necessarily  be  taken  over  by  the 
public  authorities.     Private  philanthropy  might  do  a  part 
of  this  also,  and  should  have  the  right  to  do  what  it  will 
and  can.     It  would  be  necessary  for  the  state  to  act  in  so 
far  as  private  funds  are  not  supplied.     There  would  then 
be  left,  however,  exclusively  for  private  individuals  and 
voluntary  associations  all  material  assistance  required  in 
the  homes  of  the  poor. 

IV.  This   is    appropriate,    for  it   is   a    more    delicate 
ministry,  one  requiring  greater  personal  interest,  and  a  more 
patient  study  of  the  varying  elements  of  each  particular 
problem.     If  the  family  life  is  to  be  maintained,  and  if  the 
income  is  not  sufficient  to  do  it,  the  deficit  should  not  be 
made  up  mechanically  —  as  to  some  extent  it  must  be,  if 


312  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  m 

public  officials  are  to  do  it  —  but  with  infinite  pains,  with 
personal  sympathy,  with  temperate  consideration  of  the 
earning  capacity  of  members  of  the  family,  such  as  a  private 
donor  or  the  visitor  of  a  private  society  is  more  likely  to 
show.  It  is  clear  that  there  must  be  a  division  of  work 
somewhere,  if  we  are  to  get  the  full  cooperation  of  both. 
However  much  more  than  this  private  philanthropy  may 
do,  we  shall  do  well  to  leave  strictly  to  private  charity  the 
giving  of  all  the  assistance  required  to  supplement  wages, 
to  aid  families  temporarily  disabled  by  the  death  or  ill- 
ness of  the  breadwinner,  to  supplement  the  earnings  of  a 
mother  who  is  a  widow  and  responsible  for  the  rearing  of 
children,  and  other  similar  forms  of  relief,  simply  for  the 
reason  that  private  charity  has  naturally,  or  certainly  may 
have,  more  elasticity,  more  freedom  from  arbitrary  restric- 
tions, and  a  higher  standard  of  trained  professional  ser- 
vice. 

V.  A  public  fund  is  subjected  to  more  demands  which 
should   be   resisted,  but   which   it   is   difficult   even    for 
the   most   upright  and   conscientious   officials   to   resist. 
They  come  from  politicians,  but  not  from  them  alone. 
Missionaries,  church  visitors,  clergymen,  school-teachers, 
and  even  agents  of  charitable  societies  have  been  known 
to  fall  into  the  habits  of  sending  lists  of  families,  and  it  is 
a  rare  overseer  or  official  that  will  not  think  it  advisable 
to  make  some  show  of  doing  something  when  such  in- 
dorsements   arrive.       Such    requests   are   often   entirely 
reasonable,  and  they  are  not  infrequently  addressed,  as  it 
is  right  they  should  be,  to  private  agencies  as  well.     In 
the  degree,  however,  to  which  the  fund  becomes  imper- 
sonal, and   its   expenditure  dissociated  from  its  source, 
these  demands  are  likely  to  become  the  principal  factor  in 
the  decisions  as  to  what  shall  be  done  —  rather  than  the 
real  needs  and  the  best  interests  of  the  family  concerned. 
This  impersonal  character  and  this  distance  between  the 
donor  and  the  one  who  comes  into  contact  with  the  family 
is  most  complete  in  the  case  of  public  outdoor  relief ;  and 
the  difficulty  of   its   judicious  administration,  therefore, 
other  things  being  equal,  is  greatest. 

VI.  Even  if,  finally,  there  were  no  inherent  fatal  objec- 
tions to  the  system  of  public  outdoor  relief,  as  we  have 


CHAP,  ii         THE   ARGUMENT   FROM  EXPERIENCE  313 

tried  to  show  that  there  is,  we  should  still  counsel  against 
any  agitation  for  its  introduction  in  New  York,  Philadel- 
phia, Baltimore,  or  Washington,  because  the  amount  of 
money  which  the  city  seems  willing  to  expend  for  the  care 
of  its  dependents  in  the  support  of  the  institutions  for 
which  the  city  is  now  responsible  is  inadequate.  There 
has  not  been  a  year  in  the  last  twenty  years  when  the 
appropriations  in  New  York  City  for  food,  fuel,  clothing, 
and  other  supplies  in  the  almshouse  and  hospitals  were  as 
large  as  they  should  be.  The  same  thing,  in  perhaps  a 
less  degree,  is  true  of  other  cities.  Certainly  it  would  be 
folly  to  introduce  a  demand  for  an  appropriation  for  out- 
door relief,  which  would  probably  work  injury,  when  the 
funds  set  aside  for  indoor  relief  are  not  sufficient  for  the 
actual  needs  of  the  aged,  the  defective,  and  the  sick. 


CHAPTER   III 

PRIVATE   OUTDOOR   RELIEF   IN   AMERICA1 

IT  is  now  time  to  consider  the  part  which  has  been 
taken  by  private  charity  in  the  relief  of  the  poor  in  their 
homes. 

With  the  rise  of  more  populous  towns  in  the  early 
half  of  the  century,  and  the  consequent  increase  of  the 
number  of  families  for  whom  special  relief  of  one  kind  or 
another  seemed  necessary,  there  sprang  up  naturally  a 
number  of  private  charitable  agencies,  each,  as  a  rule, 
giving  special  attention  to  some  particular  class  of  needs. 
Among  these  were  some  intended  for  particular  national- 
ities ;  as,  for  example,  the  German  Society  of  New  York, 
organized  in  1787,  similar  societies  in  Baltimore  in  1817  and 
in  Boston  in  1847,  the  French  Benevolent  Society  of  New 
York,  organized  in  1809,  and  that  of  Boston  in  1854,  the 
Scots  Charitable  Society  in  Boston  in  1657,  St.  Andrew's 
Society  of  New  York,  founded  in  1756,  and  one  of  the 
same  name  in  Baltimore  in  1806.  Others,  however,  were 
intended  for  widows  or  for  other  particular  classes  of  de- 
pendents. The  Widows  Society  in  Boston  was  started  in 
1816,  and  in  the  year  following  there  was  organized  the 
Boston  Fatherless  and  Widows  Society,  both  intended 
primarily  for  Protestants.  The  Society  for  the  Relief  of 
Poor  Widows  with  Small  Children  in  New  York  City  was 
organized  in  1798.  In  Boston  numerous  special  trust 
funds  are  still  administered  by  the  overseers  of  the  poor, 
some  of  which  date  from  the  last  century,  although  others 
have  been  added  in  recent  years.  By  the  year  1840  there 
were  over  thirty  relief-giving  societies  in  the  city  of  New 
York.  These  associations  were  instituted  "  on  the  prin- 

1  For  the  sake  of  completeness  several  paragraphs  are  reproduced  in 
the  latter  part  of  the  present  chapter  from  the  author's  earlier  and  more 
elementary  "Practice  of  Charity." 

314 


CHAP,  in  EARLY  BELIEF  SOCIETIES  316 

ciple  of  providing  for  particular  classes  of  the  indigent, 
which  united  moral  objects  with  the  relief  of  physical 
want." l 

An  informally  constituted  committee  in  the  winter  of 
1842-1843  made  a  careful  examination  of  the  situation,  the 
results  of  which,  in  the  form  of  conclusions,  were  stated 
by  the  committee  as  follows  :  — 

"  First.  That  the  want  of  discrimination  in  giving  relief 
was  a  fundamental  and  very  prevalent  defect  in  most  of 
these  schemes  of  charity.  They  had  no  adequate  arrange- 
ment by  which  it  was  possible  to  learn  the  character  and 
condition  of  applicants.  Of  course  no  sound  judgment 
could  be  exercised  in  distributing  aid  ;  and  the  societies 
being  subjected  to  constant  imposition,  large  sums  were  so 
misapplied  as  to  create  more  want  than  they  relieved. 

"  Second.  The  societies  were  found  to  act  independently 
of  each  other,  which  was  another  very  fruitful  source  of 
evil.  For  as  there  was  no  concert  of  action  or  reciproca- 
tion of  intelligence  between  them,  they  were  ignorant  of 
each  other's  operations ;  and  artful  mendicants  so  turned 
this  ignorance  to  their  own  advantage  as  often  to  obtain 
assistance  from  many  of  the  societies  at  the  same  time 
without  detection.  The  most  undeserving  consequently 
received  the  largest  amount  of  assistance,  and  were  thus 
encouraged  in  dissolute  and  improvident  habits ;  while  the 
better  class  of  the  needy  not  only  obtained  less  aid,  but  often 
far  less  than  their  necessities  required  and  the  benevolent 
would  have  bestowed,  provided  such  a  knowledge  of  their 
character  and  circumstances  had  been  possessed  which  a 
better  system  would  have  conferred. 

"  Third.  They  made  no  adequate  provision  for  personal 
intercourse  with  the  recipients  of  alms  at  their  dwellings, 
nor  for  such  sympathy  and  counsel  as  would  tend  to  en- 
courage industrious  and  virtuous  habits,  and  foster  among 
them  a  spirit  of  self-dependence.  In  short,  the  final  and 
prospective  end  of  all  true  charity  was  generally  unattained 
by  them,  inasmuch  as,  in  addition  to  other  defects,  they 
failed  to  provide  for  the  permanent  physical  and  moral 
improvement  of  those  their  alms  relieved. 

1  First  Annual  Report  of  the  Association  for  Improving  the  Condition 
of  the  Poor,  p.  14. 


316  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  in 

"  Fourth.  The  inquiries  of  the  committee  also  embraced 
the  legal  provision  for  the  poor,  which  resulted  in  the  con- 
viction that  no  form  of  charity  which  has  not  especial  ref- 
erence to  the  removal  of  the  causes  of  pauperism  can  fail 
to  increase  its  amount;  and  it  appeared  equally  certain 
that  no  such  provision  could  embrace  all  the  objects  of 

Erivate  benevolence  or  supersede  its  efforts  ;  and  after  the 
iws  had  done  their  utmost  an  immense  work  would  remain 
unaccomplished,  which,  could  not  be  effected  by  isolated 
individual  exertions." 

The  agent  of  the  committee,  Robert  M.  Hartley,  vis- 
ited Boston,  Philadelphia,  Baltimore,  and  other  cities,  and 
by  correspondence  in  this  country  and  abroad  attempted 
to  gather  information  that  would  be  of  use  in  inaugurat- 
ing a  better  plan.  It  appears,  however,  that  he  consid- 
ered these  visits  entirely  profitless,  and  that  the  system 
which  he  subsequently  put  into  operation  was  elaborated 
from  his  own  ideas.1 

The  New  York  Association  for  Improving  the  Condi- 
tion of  the  Poor  deserves  special  attention,  not  only  be- 
cause its  foundation  marks  an  epoch  in  the  creation  of 
valuable  literature  on  the  subject  of  preventive  charity, 
but  because  in  the  practical  details  of  organization  it 
formed  a  model  upon  which  many  similar  associations  in 
America  and  Europe  have  been  formed.  It  is  an  interest- 
ing coincidence  that  the  foundation  of  this  Association 
and  the  appearance  of  its  early  reports,  discussing  with 
much  vigor  and  insight  the  principles  underlying  the  new 
movement,  should  have  taken  place  just  in  the  middle  of 
the  century,  and  that  within  the  five  years  following  there 
were  published  a  number  of  extremely  valuable  reports, 
tracts,  declarations  of  principles,  and  suggestions  for  vis- 
itors, of  exactly  the  kind  that  would  be  most  likely  to  prove 
useful  to  other  societies  desiring  to  take  similar  action. 
In  the  language  of  Mr.  Hartley's  biographer  :  — 

"The  design  of  the  association  was  to  advance  the 
social,  moral,  and  material  interests  of  large  masses  of  the 
community  by  a  united  effort  embracing  the  whole  city, 
through  the  operation  of  a  system  which,  so  far  as  possi- 

1  Memorial  of  Robert  M.  Hartley,  p.  187. 


CHAP,  in      THE   PROGRESSIVE   MOVEMENT   OF   1842  317 

ble,  would  provide  for  existing  difficulties,  avoid  unknown 
evils,  and  secure  beneficent  results.  It  contemplated  es- 
caping the  evils  inseparable  from  isolated  and  independent 
exertions,  through  the  united  and  concerted  action  of  a 
general  organization,  hoping  thus  to  diminish  the  chances 
of  imposition,  to  ascertain  the  exact  amount  of  charity 
each  individual  received,  and  to  secure  its  judicious  dis- 
tribution. Moral  means  were  also  to  be  employed,  from 
the  fact  that  no  other  would  be  adequate  to  produce  the 
results  which  the  condition  of  the  indigent  required.  It  ** 
contemplated,  likewise,  preventive  rather  than  remedial 
measures.  It  was  primarily  and  directly  to  discounte- 
nance indiscriminate  almsgiving ;  to  visit  the  poor  at  their 
homes,  to  give  them  counsel,  to  assist  them  when  prac- 
ticable in  obtaining  employment,  to  inspire  them  with 
self-respect  and  self-reliance,  to  inculcate  habits  of  econ- 
omy, industry,  and  temperance,  and,  whenever  absolutely 
necessary,  to  provide  such  relief  as  should  be  suited  to 
their  wants.  Such  was  the  platform  upon  which  the 
association  proposed  to  build,  and  such  were  the  aims 
it  thoughtfully  set  before  it." 

The  following  clear  and  definite  rules  were  laid  down 
for  the  guidance  of  visitors  :  — 

I.  To  regard  each  applicant  for  relief  as   entitled  to 
charity  until  a  careful  examination  proves  the  contrary. 

II.  To  give  relief  only  after  a  personal  investigation  of 
each  case  by  visitation  and  inquiry. 

III.  To  relieve  no  one  excepting  through  the  visitor  of 
the  section  in  which  he  lives. 

IV.  To  give  necessary  articles,  and  only  what  is  imme- 
diately necessary. 

V.  To  give  what  is  least  susceptible  of  abuse. 

VI.  To  give  only  in  small  quantities  in  proportion  to 
immediate  need,  and  of  coarser  quality  than  might  be  pro- 
cured by  labor,  except  in  cases  of  sickness. 

VII.  To  give  assistance  at  the  right  moment ;  not  to 
prolong  it  beyond  the  duration  of  the  necessity  which  calls 
for  it ;  but  to  extend,  restrict,  and  modify  relief  according 
to  that  necessity. 

VIII.  To  require  of  each  beneficiary  abstinence  from  in- 
toxicating liquors  as  a  drink ;  of  such  as  have  young  chil- 


318  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  m 

dren  of  proper  age,  that  they  be  kept  at  school,  except 
unavoidable  circumstances  prevent,  and  to  apprentice  those 
of  suitable  years  to  some  trade,  or  send  them  to  service. 
The  design  being  to  make  the  poor  a  party  to  their  own 
improvement  and  elevation,  the  wilful  violation  or  disre- 
gard of  these  rules  shall  debar  them  from  further  relief. 

IX.  To  give  no  relief   to  recent   immigrants   having 
claims  on  the  Commissioners  of  Immigration,  except  in 
urgent  cases  for  two  or  three  days,  or  until  that  department 
can  be  informed  of  such  cases,  when  the  responsibility  of 
this  association  toward  them  shall  cease. 

X.  To  give  no  aid  to  persons  who,  from  infirmity,  im- 
becility, old  age,  or  any  other  cause,  are  likely  to  continue 
unable  to  earn  their  own  support,  and  consequently  to  be 
permanently  dependent,  except  in  extreme  cases  for  two 
or  three  days,  or  until  they  can  be  referred  to  the  gov- 
ernors of  the  almshouse. 

XI.  To  discontinue  relieving  all  who  manifest  a  pur- 
pose to  depend  on  alms  rather  than  on  their  own  exer- 
tions for  support,  and  whose  further  maintenance  would 
be  incompatible  with  their  good  and  the  objects  of  the 
institution. 

XII.  To  give  to  those  having  claims  on  other  charities  a 
card  directing  them  thereto,  which  indicates  thereon  why 
such  relief  was  refused  by  the  association ;  also  a  card,  a 
duplicate  thereof,  which  the  member  should  require  the 
applicant  to  produce  when  he  affirms  that  the  association 
has  denied  him  relief. 

It  will  be  seen  that  the  association  did  not  undertake 
to  aid  those  who  were  entirely  and  permanently  depend- 
ent nor,  unless  in  very  exceptional  circumstances,  those 
who  were  permanently  but  not  entirely  dependent  and 
who  were  in  receipt  of  public  outdoor  relief.  There  seems 
to  have  been  disappointment  in  the  operation  of  the 
twelfth  rule,  since  in  an  address  by  the  secretary  to  vis- 
itors in  the  year  1847  he  was  compelled  to  admit  that 
"unfortunately,  as  our  own  experience  will  attest,  though 
there  are  numerous  charitable  organizations  in  the  city,  few 
have  been  found  of  much  practical  use  to  this  association." 
This  was  regarded  as  proof  that  the  association  was  fill- 
ing a  place  in  the  systematic  charities  of  the  city  which 


CHAP,  in  NEW  METHODS   OF   WORK  319 

was  filled  by  no  other,  but  was  not  to  be  regarded  as  a 
reason  for  abandoning  the  practice  of  refusing  to  give 
assistance  to  those  who  were  clearly  the  proper  benefi- 
ciaries of  other  existing  agencies.  More  interesting,  how- 
ever, is  the  confident  belief  of  the  secretary  that  after 
excluding  permanent  paupers  and  dependents  properly  be- 
longing to  other  agencies,  fifteen  thousand  persons  in  New 
York  City  remain  in  whole  or  in  part  dependent  for  sub- 
sistence upon  gratuitous  relief,  and  that  each  of  these  "  has 
a  distinct  mark  set  upon  him  by  Providence  or  his  own 
character,  which  mark  clearly  indicates  the  department  to 
which  he  legitimately  belongs,  or  the  source  from  which  he 
should  derive  relief."  The  mark  which  visitors  of  the 
association  were  asked  to  recognize  as  indicating  their 
own  poor  was  the  possibility  of  elevating  the  moral  and 
physical  condition  of  the  applicant.  Those  who  could  not 
be  elevated  were  not  to  have  relief.  Furthermore  visitors 
were  to  bear  in  mind  that  there  were  practical  limits  to 
the  amount  of  care  and  attention  which  they  could  give, 
and  the  constitution  was  interpreted  to  allow  relief  only 
to  those  whose  moral  and  physical  condition  will  be  im- 
proved by  the  amount  of  relief  and  attention  which  the 
visitor  in  the  proper  discharge  of  his  duties  is  able  to 
bestow.  As  if  to  emphasize  the  importance  of  this  dis- 
crimination visitors  are  told  that  "their  recollections  will 
confirm  the  declaration  that  every  exposition  of  our  ob- 
jects which  has  been  given  to  the  public,  whether  in  the 
visitors'  manual,  the  annual  reports,  or  other  documents, 
enforces  and  illustrates  these  as  the  fundamental  objects 
of  the  association." 

In  sharp  contrast  with  this  class  were  to  be  placed  those 
bearing  the  "corporation  mark," — that  is,  those  who  should 
be  helped  by  the  public  authorities  in  the  almshouse  or 
otherwise.  The  association  refused  to  dignify  public  sup- 
port by  calling  it  charity,  and  did  not  hesitate  to  say  that 
the  present  system  of  outdoor  almshouse  relief  is  one  of 
the  most  productive  sources  of  pauperism  in  the  city. 
The  association  enrolled  a  large  number  of  volunteer  vis- 
itors who  became  not  only  its  almoners,  but  also  its  agents 
in  the  work  of  personally  improving  the  moral  and  physi- 
cal condition  of  the  families  with  which  it  had  to  do,  and 


320  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  in 

remonstrance  was  often  necessary  to  prevent  the  visitors 
from  relaxing  efforts  at  moral  reform,  and  calling  in  the 
discredited  system  of  relying  entirely  upon  almsgiving. 
The  visitor  is  constantly  enjoined  that  it  is  his  duty  to 
send  all  who  bear  the  mark  of  the  corporation  to  the  alms- 
house  commissioner  for  relief,  when  the  responsibility  of 
the  association  toward  such  families  ceases. 

Although  the  association  was  aware  of  the  danger  of 
allowing  its  energies  to  be  absorbed  by  outside  special  en- 
terprises and  refrained  from  undertaking  certain  reforms 
to  which  they  would  have  been  inclined,  they  were  never- 
theless active  in  several  directions  besides  the  supplying 
of  material  relief.  Most  important  among  these  was  the 
agitation  for  improved  dwellings,  the  first  fruit  of  which 
was  the  "  Report  of  the  Committee  on  the  Sanitary  Con- 
dition of  the  Laboring  Classes  of  the  City  of  New  York 
with  Remedial  Suggestions,"  published  in  1853.  This 
report  contained  definite  recommendations  for  legislative 
action,  as  well  as  an  appeal  to  capitalists  and  owners  of 
real  estate  to  embrace  the  opportunity  before  them  and 
to  take  advantage  "  of  the  singular  privilege  of  becoming 
benefactors  of  the  poor  with  pecuniary  advantage  to  them- 
selves. "  It  appeared  that  most  of  the  new  tenement-houses 
were  on  so  contracted  and  penurious  a  scale,  that  they 
were  actually  inferior  to  many  of  the  old  buildings  whose 
places  they  supplied,  that  vice  and  pauperism  were  perpet- 
uated by  such  causes,  the  almshouse  and  prisons  supplied 
with  recruits,  and  the  city  burdened  with  taxes  for  the 
support  of  dependents.  In  conclusion  the  report  denies 
that  the  more  strict  legislation  recommended  would  inter- 
fere with  the  rights  of  property-holders  or  with  the  rights 
of  tenants  ;  emphasizes  the  educational  influence  of  more 
sanitary  regulations  upon  the  laboring  classes,  and  ex- 
presses the  belief  that  many  of  the  laboring  classes  are 
more  alive  to  their  privileges  than  has  been  generally  sup- 
posed, and  that,  so  far  from  thwarting  endeavors  to  pro- 
mote their  health  and  cleanliness,  they  will  render  every 
possible  assistance,  for  they  will  discover  that  their  own 
best  interests  are  promoted  by  all  those  measures  which 
are  calculated  to  improve  their  sanitary  condition. 

The  association  inaugurated  the  plan  of  collecting  cast- 


CHAP,  in         SCOPE   OF  RELIEF   WORK  EXTENDED  321 

off  clothing  for  distribution  among  the  poor  and  also  of 
providing  for  the  wise  distribution  of  broken  victuals  by 
registering  the  names  of  such  residents  as  were  willing  to 
give  only  to  families  sent  by  the  association.  The  plan 
of  loaning  stoves  was  in  force  for  several  years.  There 
were  repeated  efforts  to  repress  vagrancy  and  street  beg- 
ging, and  the  educational  work  of  the  association  extended 
to  the  circulation  of  tracts  containing  directions  about  food 
and  drink  and  their  preparation,  and  warning  against 
intemperance  and  other  vices.  Many  thousand  copies  of 
a  twelve-page  pamphlet  entitled  "  The  Economist "  were 
circulated,  and  Poor  Richard's  famous  brochure,  "  The 
Way  to  .Wealth,"  was  also  published  as  a  tract  by  the 
association  with,  however,  several  appended  extracts  from 
Proverbs  and  Ecclesiastes  calculated  to  supply  what  was 
regarded  as  a  want  of  religious  feeling  and  sentiment  in 
the  original.  After  careful  examination  of  the  recom- 
mendations for  and  against  an  employment  bureau,  it  was 
decided  in  1850  not  to  enter  upon  this  field  but  to  continue 
the  policy  of  urging  removal  to  the  country  upon  all  those 
who  were  unable  to  find  employment  in  the  city.1 

The  association  in  the  sixty  years  of  its  existence  has 
taken  an  active  part  in  many  useful  reforms  and  social 
improvements,  and  has  been  instrumental  in  organizing 
a  large  number  of  charitable  institutions  and  societies  for 
special  objects  not  included  within  its  own  original  scope. 

In  several  other  cities  relief  associations  were  started 
within  a  few  years  after  the  foundation  of  the  New  York 
association.  The  Baltimore  Association  for  Improving 
the  Condition  of  the  Poor  dates  from  1849,  the  Boston 
Provident  Association  from  1851,  and  the  Chicago  Relief 
and  Aid  Society  from  the  autumn  of  1857.  Although  the 
Chicago  society  adopted  a  different  name,  it  was  un- 
doubtedly indebted  for  many  of  its  leading  features  di- 
rectly, or  through  the  influence  of  other  societies  which  had 
copied  the  plan,  to  the  New  York  Association  for  Improv- 
ing the  Condition  of  the  Poor.  This  is  shown  most 
clearly  in  the  general  rules  of  the  society  which  follow  at 
most  points  the  rules  of  the  parent  organization.  At  first 

1  Over  forty  years  later,  however,  the  association  for  a  period  of  five 
years  conducted  an  employment  bureau.  See  p.  336. 


322  PRINCIPLES  OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

volunteer  visitors  were  employed  by  the  Chicago  Relief 
and  Aid  Society,  but  this  was  soon  found  unsatisfactory 
and  paid  visitors  were  employed.  A  division  of  the  city 
into  districts  was,  however,  continued  in  Chicago  and  in 
Baltimore,  while  in  New  York  City  both  the  territorial 
subdivision  into  districts  and  the  employment  of  volunteer 
visitors  were  eventually  discontinued. 

Among  the  originators  of  the  Provident  Association  of 
Boston  were  Rev.  Dr.  Ephraim  Peabody  and  the  Hon. 
Robert  C.  Winthrop.  The  territorial  limits  established 
at  the  outset  have  never  been  extended.  Its  principal 
objects,  as  stated  in  a  brief  paper  by  Mr.  Edward  Frothing- 
ham,  the  present  general  agent,1  were  to  endeavor  to  ele- 
vate the  character  and  improve  the  condition  of  the  poor, 
and  to  suppress  street  begging.  The  city  was  divided 
into  twelve  districts  and  these  were  subdivided  into  one 
hundred  and  seventy  sections ;  each  section  having  its  vol- 
unteer visitor  whose  business  it  was  to  visit,  investigate, 
and,  if  necessary,  to  relieve  all  families  who  were  referred 
to  them  by  subscribers  through  whose  contributions  the 
association  was  supported. 

With  the  early  annual  reports  was  published  a  directory 
containing  a  list  of  the  streets  of  the  city  and  carefully 
prepared  directions  to  both  subscribers  and  visitors.  The 
latter,  of  whom  there  were  at  no  time  over  one  hundred, 
were  expected  to  send  monthly  reports  of  their  experiences 
to  the  general  agent  at  the  central  office.  After  1880  this 
system  was  changed.  The  volunteer  visitors  were  found 
difficult  to  control ;  many  lacked  judgment ;  most  of  them 
were  extravagant ;  and  they  often  neglected  to  forward 
their  monthly  reports.  Captain  A.  G.  Goodwin,  who  was 
for  twenty  years  the  general  agent,  used  to  say  that  the 
visitors  often  gave  him  more  trouble  than  the  applicants. 
So  the  volunteers  were  gradually  allowed  to  drop  off,  their 
places  being  filled  by  paid  visitors.  At  the  present  time 
the  visiting  and  aiding  the  poor  is  entirely  in  the  hands  of 
trained  agents  who  make  visiting  their  business  and  do 
nothing  else.  The  wisdom  of  changing  the  volunteer 
system  to  paid  experts  is  thought  to  be  demonstrated  by 

1  "One  of  Boston's  Great  Charities,"  in  the  Prospect  Union  Review 
for  March  6,  1895. 


CHAP,  in    INFLUENCE  OF  THE  NEW  YORK  ASSOCIATION     323 

the  saving  to  the  association  of  many  thousands  of  dollars. 
The  worthy  poor  are  said  to  be  better  cared  for,  and  a  check 
is  given  to  imposition  and  fraud,  formerly  so  prevalent. 
The  association  has  in  its  service  three  of  these  paid  visi- 
tors, each  assigned  to  a  particular  district. 

Mr.  Frothingham  considers  that  experience  has  proved 
beyond  question  that  great  relief  agencies  like  the  over- 
seers of  the  poor  (who  have  charge  of  public  outdoor 
relief  in  Massachusetts)  and  the  Provident  Association 
can  do  their  work  far  more  expeditiously,  economically, 
and  safely  with  a  small  body  of  trained  visitors  than 
through  a  large  number  of  inexperienced  volunteers.  The 
conclusion,  however,  does  not  apply  to  a  society  like  the 
Associated  Charities,  in  the  prosecution  of  whose  work 
volunteer  visitors  are,  he  thinks,  indispensable. 

In  the  year  1871  the  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society  had 
an  experience  such  as  has  probably  never  fallen  to  the  lot 
of  any  other  organized  charity  of  Europe  or  America.  This 
was  the  task  of  receiving  and  disbursing  within  a  period 
of  about  six  months  the  sum  of  about  $5,000,000  for  the 
relief  of  sufferers  from  the  Chicago  fire.  An  account  of 
the  manner  in  which  this  trust  was  discharged  is  given  in 
a  separate  chapter. 

It  is  unnecessary  to  trace  the  beneficent  and  multi- 
farious activities  of  the  special  and  general  relief  societies 
of  various  types  organized  in  recent  years.  Scarcely  any 
city  is  without  such  private  societies,  and  sometimes  they 
are  subsidized  from  the  public  treasury.  Moreover,  the 
churches  engage  to  a  greater  or  less  extent  in  relief  work, 
their  funds  for  this  purpose  being  placed  either  in  the 
hands  of  paid  visitors  or  of  special  church  officers,  such  as 
deacons,  although  it  not  infrequently  happens  that  it  is 
thought  best  to  organize  a  special  committee  or  society 
within  the  church  to  discharge  this  duty.  The  Protestant 
churches  have  not  passed  beyond  this  somewhat  unorgan- 
ized stage,  nor  have  they  usually  reached  the  conclusion 
which  would  be  the  most  sensible,  and  of  which  there  are 
some  striking  examples,  viz.,  to  withdraw  entirely  from 
the  province  of  material  relief. 

The  Roman  Catholic  church  has  developed  within  the 
past  forty  years  a  network  of  societies  of  laymen  which 


324  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  m 

have  greatly  simplified  and  improved  the  charitable  ac- 
tivity of  that  church  so  far  as  it  has  to  do  with  the  care 
and  relief  of  needy  families.  The  Society  of  St.  Vincent 
de  Paul  owes  allegiance  to  the  Council-General  in  Paris, 
but  with  the  exception  of  ninety-two  conferences  in  the 
three  councils  of  Brooklyn,  St.  Louis,  and  New  Orleans, 
the  conferences  in  the  United  States  are  under  the  direction 
of  what  is  known  as  the  Superior  Council  of  New  York. 
There  were  in  1902  four  hundred  and  twenty-eight  distinct 
conferences  with  an  active  membership  of  6979.  Their 
receipts  and  disbursements  for  relief  were  about  §180,000. 
While  this  is  only  a  small  part  of  the  total  amount  given 
by  the  Catholic  church  and  its  members  to  destitute  fami- 
lies, it  is  of  importance  because  of  the  comparatively  pro- 
gressive and  enlightened  manner  in  which  the  society 
is  administered,  and  because  it  is  supplemented  by  the 
volunteer  personal  service  of  the  active  members  of  the 
society  who  pledge  themselves  to  visit  and  to  give  religious 
and  moral  oversight  to  those  under  its  care. 

Extraordinary  conditions  in  the  Jewish  communities  of 
the  chief  centres  of  population,  arising  from  the  heavy 
immigration  from  eastern  Europe,  have  made  necessary 
liberal  provision  for  the  needs  of  destitute  Hebrews.  Of 
recent  years  the  distribution  of  this  relief  has  been  systema- 
tized, and  in  some  instances  greatly  increased  in  amount. 
In  several  cities  various  societies  have  been  consolidated 
into  an  organization  known  as  the  United  Hebrew  Chari- 
ties, or  the  Federation  of  Jewish  Charities.  The  United 
Hebrew  Charities  of  New  York  has  four  constituent  socie- 
ties and  seventeen  cooperating  societies  and  sisterhoods. 
It  maintains  an  employment  bureau,  a  medical  and  obstet- 
rical service,  provides  regular  monthly  stipends  aggregating 
in  1903  about  135,000,  occasional  relief  in  money  to  the 
amount  of  nearly  180,000  ;  transportation  to  about  117,500; 
clothing,  shoes,  furniture,  tools,  etc.,  about  $8000;  fuel, 
about  $3000.  The  cost  of  the  medical  service  is  a  little 
under  $4000,  and  that  of  burials  nearly  $3000.  The  total 
expenditures  of  the  United  Hebrew  Charities  for  the  five 
years  ending  September  30, 1903,  were  :  1899, 1136,439.75 ; 
1900,1145,734.72;  1901,  $155,602.64;  1902,  $175,046.40  ; 
and  1903,  $206,148.74. 


CHAP,  in  CHURCH   CHARITIES  325 

Many  of  the  recently  arrived  immigrants  do  not  apply 
for  relief  but  for  tools  for  their  respective  trades.  These 
are  to  a  large  extent  persons  who,  when  economic  con- 
ditions are  favorable,  eventually  become  self-supporting. 

In  the  summer  of  1899  a  careful  study  was  made  by  the 
manager  of  the  United  Hebrew  Charities  of  the  city  of 
New  York  of  one  thousand  applicants  who  originally  asked 
for  assistance  in  the  fall  of  1894.  This  investigation 
showed  that  60  per  cent  did  not  apply  after  that  year  ;  73 
per  cent  did  not  apply  after  1895,  80  per  cent  after  1896, 
85  per  cent  after  1897,  and  93  per  cent  after  1898  —  leaving 
7  per  cent  of  the  original  number  still  being  assisted  dur- 
ing the  year  1899.  Of  one  hundred  cases  investigated,  12 
per  cent  were  found  to  be  self-supporting,  22  per  cent  had 
removed  from  New  York  City,  having  been  assisted  origi- 
nally with  transportation,  and  66  per  cent  could  not  be 
found  and  were  doubtless  to  a  large  extent  self-supporting. 
These  figures  demonstrate  both  the  exceptional  conditions 
under  which  Hebrew  families  have  been  compelled  to  ask 
for  assistance  and  the  absence  of  a  pauperizing  effect  in 
the  aid  given. 

Perhaps  the  earliest  Protestant  church  charity  which 
became  permanent  is  the  Boston  "  Quarterly  Charity  Lec- 
ture," formed  in  1720  by  a  few  persons  who  held  quarterly 
meetings  on  Sunday  evenings  for  benevolent  purposes  at 
which  some  member  was  invited  to  preach.1  On  March  6, 
1720,  Cotton  Mather  gave  the  first  of  these  lectures  of 
which  there  is  a  record.  The  meeting  is  now  held  annu- 
ally. The  collections  made  at  this  lecture  and  the  income 
from  two  endowed  funds,  yielding  from  $1500  to  $1800 
annually,  are  distributed  equally  among  four  Congrega- 
tional churches  who  dispense  them  according  to  the  pre- 
vailing custom  of  the  charitable  organization  of  each 
church. 

The  proportion  of  destitute  families  among  adherents 
of  the  Roman  Catholic  and  the  Jewish  faiths  is  larger 
than  among  the  membership  of  Protestant  churches.  To  a 
large  extent,  however,  the  Protestant  churches  have  aided 
families  whose  connection  with  the  church  is  a  very  shad- 

1  Chapter  on  "Charities  of  Boston,"  by  George  Silsbee  Hale,  in  "  Memo- 
rial History  of  Boston,"  p.  660. 


326  PRINCIPLES   OF   BELIEF  PART  in 

owy  one,  consisting  oftentimes  merely  of  the  attendance 
of  children  upon  the  Sunday-school  or  even  proximity  of 
residence. 

St.  George's  Protestant  Episcopal  church  in  the  city  of 
New  York  disbursed  a  poor  fund  in  the  year  ending  April 
1,  1899,  amounting  to  12400,  besides  which  $159  was  sub- 
scribed for  Thanksgiving  dinners  for  the  poor  ;  a  guild  and 
employment  society  gave  work  through  the  winter  to  forty 
women  who  were  paid  $733.15  ;  the  Helping  Hand  Society 
aided  in  providing  hand  sewing,  as  a  result  of  which  eight 
hundred  and  fifty-two  garments  were  made  by  beneficiaries, 
and  over  $400  additional  was  paid  in  wages  and  in  the  form 
of  dry  goods  and  groceries  ;  a  Seaside  Cottage  for  summer 
excursionists,  accommodating  forty  resident  guests  and 
from  one  to  two  hundred  day  excursionists  at  a  time,  was 
maintained  for  thirteen  weeks  at  a  total  expense  of 
$3295.62,  all  of  which  was  contributed  in  the  Easter  Sun- 
day collection.  The  chief  items  in  the  disbursement  of  the 
poor  fund  proper  were :  to  pensioners,  $420 ;  to  the  sick, 
$411.28;  to  the  poor  direct,  through  the  clergy  and  deacon- 
esses, $325  ;  medicine,  $180.86  ;  orthopedic  and  other 
appliances,  $80.75;  groceries,  $738.84  (of  this  amount, 
however,  $302.50  represents  sales  at  low  prices,  and  only 
the  balance,  $436.34,  donations)  ;  coal,  $48.35  ;  meals  and 
lodgings,  $3.70  ;  rent,  $19  ;  shoes,  $48.65.  This  amount 
was  obtained  chiefly  from  communion  alms  in  amounts 
varying  from  $11.36  in  September  to  $202.01  in  January. 
The  number  of  families  to  whom  groceries  were  given  dur- 
ing the  year  was  one  hundred  and  sixty-six,  and  about  an 
equal  number  made  regular  purchases. 

In  Trinity  Church  of  New  York  City  and  its  eight  chap- 
els the  appropriations  for  the  poor,  exclusive  of  those  for 
the  maintenance  of  hospitals  in  which  the  parish  is  inter- 
ested, amounted  to  $5850.61.  Of  this  over  $1000  was  for 
burials,  and  $631  for  medical  services  to  the  poor  of  one 
of  the  chapels. 

St.  Bartholomew's  parish,  while  disbursing  a  poor  fund 
of  smaller  amount,  has  an  even  larger  number  of  special 
enterprises  for  the  elevation  and  improvement  of  the  poor. 
The  poor  fund  for  the  year  ending  November  1,  1899, 
amounted  to  $1725.27,  of  which  sum  $200.22  was  from 


CHAP,  in  DISSATISFACTION   WITH   RESULTS  327 

loans  returned  by  beneficiaries.  Except  the  sum  of  $227. 35 
this  amount  may  be  said  to  have  been  expended  in  the  chari- 
table relief  of  needy  families,  though  it  was  for  a  variety  of 
purposes,  including  nursing  and  medical  aid,  clothing, 
funerals,  rents,  cash  loans,  and  payments  of  fees  in  the 
Employment  Bureau  maintained  by  the  same  parish.  Be- 
sides the  poor  fund  the  parish  disbursed  through  its 
visitor  $416  in  the  form  of  pensions,  paid  wages,  etc.,  in 
a  tailor  shop  amounting  to  $1632.74,  enabling  the  shop  to 
give  away  or  sell  at  moderate  prices  1248  garments.  There 
was  disbursed  in  fresh-air  work  $2000,  and  smaller  sums 
in  other  special  ways.  This  church  maintains  also  a  Penny 
Provident  Fund  in  which  there  are  2648  depositors  who 
saved  in  the  current  year  the  sum  of  $1844.82. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  more  frank  and  eloquent 
confession  of  the  perplexities  involved  in  church  relief 
than  is  contained  in  the  two  following  paragraphs  from  the 
report  of  one  of  the  assistant  ministers  of  this  parish  :  — 

"  The  never  ending  stream  of  applicants  for  help  in  some 
form  or  other  —  sometimes  in  the  way  of  employment, 
oftentimes  in  the  way  of  direct  and  material  aid  in  circum- 
stances of  poverty,  sickness,  and  want — is  a  disheartening 
feature.  It  never  seems  to  grow  any  less.  All  we  do  only 
relieves.  All  that  is  done  everywhere  by  all  churches  and 
charitable  agencies  only  seems  to  touch  the  surface  and 
help  temporarily.  We  do  not  seem  to  cure  and  remove 
the  trouble.  Here  and  there  a  case  occurs  probably  where 
the  good  effect  is  permanent,  but  the  trouble  is  deep  seated. 
It  is  both  acute  and  chronic  and  may  be  expected,  I  sup- 
pose, to  be  always  with  us.  It  would  be  easier  and  lighter 
for  us,  however, —  less  depressing  and  more  endurable, —  if 
it  were  not  for  the  tinge  of  unworthiness  and  imposture 
which  runs  so  freely  through  it,  leaving  one  often  at  a  loss 
how  to  deal  with  it  and  exposing  one  to  the  charge,  on 
the  one  hand,  of  being  4  soft '  and  *  an  easy  mark '  for 
fraud,  or,  on  the  other  hand,  of  being  hard  hearted,  unsym- 
pathetic, and  unchristian. 

"One  wonders  sometimes  whether  there  may  not  be  a 
measure  of  truth  in  the  latter  charge,  such  is  the  damag- 
ing effect  of  the  frequent  contact  with  the  revelations  of 
human  nature's  weakness  and  wickedness,  and  one  is  some- 


328  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  in 

times  compelled  to  acknowledge  the  truth  of  the  former 
charge  by  the  actual  results  of  an  attempt  to  be  charitable." 

These  are  three  of  the  churches  in  which  the  amounts 
contributed  for  the  purpose  of  helping  the  poor  in  their 
own  homes  are  probably  larger  than  in  other  Protestant 
churches,  and  they  are  therefore  not  typical,  either  in 
amount  or  in  kind,  of  the  average  work  done  by  the 
churches  as  such. 

Inquiry  has  been  made  concerning  one  prosperous  and 
active  Presbyterian  church  in  the  city  of  Philadelphia 
whose  membership,  while  it  does  not  contain  a  large  num- 
ber of  the  poor,  does  embrace  an  unusually  large  number 
of  citizens  who  are  leaders  in  educational,  social,  and  phil- 
anthropic activities.  It  is  reported  that  the  total  relief 
fund  does  not  exceed  $300  or  $400  and  that  this  is  largely 
in  the  form  of  loans  which  are  repaid.  Whether  the 
money  is  loaned  or  given  it  is  chiefly  used  for  the  purchase 
of  fuel  in  winter.  There  are  no  regular  pensioners. 

A  Methodist  Episcopal  church,  whose  membership  em- 
braces a  large  number  of  families  of  very  limited  means, 
disburses  relief  in  a  year  amounting  to  $250.  This  is  given 
to  five  families,  three  of  whom  are  on  the  regular  list,  while 
the  remaining  two  are  intermittent  recipients.  Except  in 
an  unusual  emergency  this  church  never  gives  more  than 
one  dollar  per  week  per  family,  and  with  one  exception 
this  aid  is  given  only  after  work  of  equivalent  value  has 
been  performed.  The  exception  is  in  the  case  of  a  cripple 
who  is  the  support  of  an  invalid  mother.  The  work  which 
she  does  making  buttonholes  on  vests  consumes  so  much  of 
her  time  and  strength  that  the  church  does  not  feel  justi- 
fied in  asking  her  to  do  any  work  for  the  one  dollar  a 
week  given  to  her.  Save  in  the  case  just  mentioned  the 
beneficiaries  are  all  widows  with  small  children.  Four  of 
the  five  are  members  of  the  congregation;  the  other  has 
no  church  connection. 

These  two  churches  would  not  include  the  giving  of 
Thanksgiving  and  Christmas  dinners  in  their  statement  of 
relief  disbursed,  as  these  are  intended  as  social  courtesies 
rather  than  as  relief  ;  they  are  frequently  given  to  families 
which  have  not  reached  the  point  of  needing  relief,  and 
generally  in  such  a  way  as  not  to  reveal  the  source  of  the 


DANGERS   IN   CHURCH  RELIEF 


donation.  The  pastors  and  officials  of  many  churches 
would  now  disavow  any  intention  of  making  the  church  a 
relief  agency,  and  the  churches  are  becoming  solicitous  that 
their  own  members  as  well  as  possible  applicants  who  are 
not  communicants  shall  understand  that  the  churches  do  not 
exist  primarily  for  this  purpose.  It  is  their  policy  to  report 
original  applications  for  relief  from  outsiders  to  the  chari- 
table societies,  and,  as  far  as  their  own  members  are  con- 
cerned, to  anticipate  destitution  by  persuading  those  who 
are  likely  to  become  dependent  to  make  use  of  agencies  for 
saving,  or  otherwise  to  prevent  the  need  for  outside  help. 

Here  and  there  throughout  the  country  particular  par- 
ishes or  congregations  will  be  found  which  are  compelled  to 
give  a  considerable  amount  of  relief,  and  which  as  a  result 
of  experience  have  adopted  modern  methods  of  relief,  but 
there  are  no  general  statistics  of  the  amounts  given  by  the 
various  congregations  of  any  of  the  Protestant  churches, 
and  there  is  nothing  like  a  uniform  system  in  general  use 
in  the  entire  body  of  churches  of  any  one  of  the  great 
Protestant  denominations. 

A  few  pastors  have  taken  the  advanced  but  entirely  ten-  - . 
able  position  that  the  churches  are  intended  only  for  wor- 
ship and  for  religious  fellowship,  not  for  the  supply  of 
material  needs.  The  relief  fund  has  given  way  to  outside 
or  affiliated  agencies  for  the  promotion  of  thrift,  temper- 
ance, and  education.  Other  churches,  such  as  those  already 
described,  without  going  so  far  as  to  abolish  relief,  have 
introduced  discrimination  and  personal  service  as  its  allies, 
have  enlisted  volunteer  corps  of  workers,  where  necessary 
have  employed  professional  visitors,  and  have  willingly 
exchanged  information  with  other  churches  and  with  relief 
societies  regarding  families  who  may  be  known  to  others 
besides  themselves.  To  a  large  extent,  however,  the 
churches  and  religious  societies  pursue  an  antiquated  and 
short-sighted  policy,  giving  relief  from  sentimental  motives 
without  personal  knowledge  of  its  effect  upon  those  who 
receive  it,  and  oftentimes  in  the  hope  that  possible  converts 
may  be  attracted  through  this  means.  This  criticism 
applies  with  peculiar  force  to  missions,  to  posts  of  the  Sal- 
vation Army,  Church  Army,  Volunteers,  and  other  organi- 
zations which  aim  to  reach  the  outcast  and  the  neglected, 


330  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIED  PART  iii 

and  is  defended  on  the  ground  that  in  no  other  way  can 
they  gain  the  attention  and  the  confidence  of  those  whom 
they  would  rescue.  The  most  encouraging  aspect  of  the 
system,  or  lack  of  system,  among  the  churches  in  their  care 
of  needy  families,  is  that  there  is  everywhere  dissatisfaction 
with  the  results,  and  if  there  is  also  unwillingness  to  adopt 
better  methods  because  of  a  traditional  feeling  that  they 
are  necessarily  bound  up  with  harshness  and  an  uncharita- 
ble spirit,  this  should  prove  to  be  only  a  transitional  stage, 
to  be  succeeded  either  by  associated  and  intelligent  sym- 
pathy and  progressive  relief  methods,  or  by  a  division  of 
work  with  relief  societies. 

Besides  the  churches  and  the  general  relief  societies  there 
are  numerous  agencies  for  the  care  and  relief  of  needy 
families  which  rest  upon  a  national  or  special  basis.  Some 
of  these,  as  has  been  explained,  date  from  the  eighteenth 
or  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  century.  Others,  how- 
ever, have  been  founded  recently.  Their  benefits  are  some- 
times restricted  to  members  and  their  families,  with  only 
such  response  to  appeals  from  outsiders  as  would  be  given 
by  any  mutual  benefit  society  not  intended  for  general  relief. 
Others,  deriving  their  financial  support  from  membership 
fees  and  the  contributions  of  the  charitable,  are  intended 
to  aid  families  of  a  particular  nationality  or  belonging 
to  a  specified  class.  An  illustration  of  the  latter  is  the 
Armenian  Benevolent  Association  of  Boston,  formed  for 
the  purpose  of  helping  Armenians  within  ten  miles  of 
Boston,  securing  employment,  caring  for  the  sick,  and  giv- 
ing material  aid  to  the  needy.  As  illustrations  of  the 
former  may  be  mentioned  the  Beneficial  Association  of  the 
Maryland  Line,  with  headquarters  in  Baltimore,  which, 
besides  being  a  mutual  benefit  association  of  ex-Confeder- 
ate soldiers,  also  relieves  the  needs  of  sick  and  destitute 
families  of  ex-Confederates  in  Maryland  and  aids  to  bury 
the  dead ;  and  the  Italian  Benevolent  Society  of  New  York, 
which,  although  stating  its  general  objects  to  be  for  the 
relief  of  sick  and  needy  Italians,  to  improve  their  moral 
and  physical  condition,  to  assist  immigrants  and  to  form 
colonies  in  different  parts  of  the  country,  finds  it  necessary 
in  practice  to  limit  its  benefits,  to  a  large  extent,  to  its 
own  members  and  their  friends. 


CHAP,  in          '  SOCIETIES   FOR   SPECIAL  CLASSES  331 

In  New  York  City  nearly  every  nationality  is  repre- 
sented by  a  society  which,  as  a  rule,  aids  residents,  provides 
transportation  in  suitable  cases  for  those  who  seek  to  re- 
turn to  their  own  homes,  and  to  some  extent  aids  recent 
immigrants  to  find  employment.  In  Boston  there  are 
fourteen  relief  agencies  for  various  nationalities,  besides 
seventy-six  mutual  benefit  societies  for  special  races  or 
nationalities  with  headquarters  in  New  York.  Most  not- 
able among  agencies  of  this  kind  is  the  Baron  de  Hirsch 
Fund,  which  is  amply  endowed  and  does  not  depend  upon 
current  contributions.  The  object  of  this  fund  is  to 
Americanize  and  assimilate  the  immigrants  by  teaching 
them  to  become  good  citizens  and  to  prevent,  by  all  proper 
means,  their  congregating  in  large  cities.  It  furnishes 
mechanics  with  tools  ;  teaches  easily  acquired  trades  or  the 
knowledge  of  the  use  of  tools ;  pays  entrance  fees  into 
trade-unions,  loans  small  sums  in  exceptional  cases  to  help 
to  self-support,  but  does  not  give  direct  charitable  relief. 
It  does,  however,  provide  transportation  to  points  where  it 
is  absolutely  known  there  is  a  market  for  the  particular 
kind  of  laborers  to  be  sent.  It  establishes  day  and  night 
schools  for  children  and  adults,  when  the  local  authorities 
and  private  organizations  have  failed  to  make  such  provi- 
sion, wherein  are  taught  the  elementary  branches  of  Eng- 
lish, including  a  knowledge  of  the  Constitution  of  the 
United  States  and  the  inculcation  of  improved  sanitary 
habits. 

Private  charity  does  not  embody  itself  completely  in  re- 
lief societies.  Organized  agencies  are  likely  to  absorb 
attention  in  a  historical  survey,  since  it  is  possible  to  trace 
them.  It  must  never  be  forgotten,  however,  that  the  aid 
extended  to  those  in  distress  secretly  by  private  individuals 
is  of  vast  amount  in  the  aggregate,  although  the  fact  that 
it  is  left  unrecorded  leaves  it  largely  outside  the  field  of 
the  student  of  past  or  current  relief  societies.1 

1  There  is,  there  can  be,  no  record  of  the  work  and  gifts  of  generous 
stewards  of  the  abundance  which  has  rewarded  lives  of  labor ;  of  men 
whom  the  living  recall,  the  steady  stream  of  whose  annual  beneficence 
was  a  king's  ransom,  of  those  whom  the  living  know,  whose  annual  gifts 
are  an  ample  fortune  ;  or  of  the  "honorable  women,"  whose  lives  are  full 
of  good  deeds  and  almsgiving.  It  seems  only  an  injustice  to  the  living 
and  the  dead  of  a  community,  which  has  had  and  still  has  such  men 


332  PRINCIPLES  OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

Only  a  small  part  of  the  gifts  made  for  charitable  pur- 
poses, munificent  in  the  aggregate,  are  recorded  in  any 
permanent  way.  Donations  for  material  relief  have  not 
been  so  frequent  within  the  present  century  as  in  earlier 
centuries,  partly  for  the  reason  that  gifts  for  direct  relief, 
rigidly  controlled  by  the  donor's  stipulations,  were  apt  to 
have  an  injurious  effect,  and  partly  because  endowments 
for  educational  purposes,  such  as  schools  and  libraries, 
were  found  to  be  far  more  useful.  Aside  from  donations 
of  large  sums  by  wealthy  individuals  there  remains,  how- 
ever, a  large  field  for  individual  help.  Indeed,  it  is  a  ques- 
tion whether  the  unmeasured  but  certainly  large  amount 
of  neighborly  assistance  given  in  the  tenement-houses  of 
the  city,  precisely  as  in  a  New  England  village  or  in  a 
frontier  settlement,  does  not  rank  first  of  all  among  the 
means  for  the  alleviation  of  distress.  The  proverbial 
kindness  of  the  poor  to  the  poor  finds  ample  illustration 
in  the  congested  quarters  of  the  city,  even  though  physical 
proximity  there  counts  least  in  the  feeling  of  responsibility 
for  neighbors.  One  of  the  most  interesting  generalizations 
made  by  Charles  Booth  is  that,  while  all  classes  in  London 
give  largely  in  charity,  the  poorest  people  give  the  most 
in  proportion  to  what  they  have.  This  is  equally  true  in 
American  communities.  What  the  housekeeper  and  the 
fellow-tenants  do  for  the  temporary  relief  of  those  whose 
income  is  cut  off  by  accident,  sickness,  or  misfortune,  must 
be  given  a  large  place  in  any  statement  of  the  relief  system. 

Such  assistance  as  this  has  many  advantages  over  that 
given  by  organized  societies.  There  is  little  probability  of 
imposition,  of  excessive  relief,  or  of  relief  that  is  ill  adapted 
to  its  purpose,  such  as  is  common  in  the  wholesale  distribu- 
tion made  by  public  officials  and  which  sometimes  shows 

and  women  among  its  members,  to  attempt  a  record  necessarily  so  im- 
perfect.—  GEORGK  SILSBHE  HALE:   "Memorial  History  of  Boston." 

In  a  footnote  to  the  above  passage,  the  author  quotes  from  the  diary 
and  correspondence  of  Amos  Lawrence  an  estimate  that  between  1807  and 
1829  this  private  citizen  of  Boston  expended  in  systematic  charity  for  the 
benefit  of  his  fellowmen  some  $7,000,000  ;  and  says  :  "  It  is  hardly  neces- 
sary to  add  that  this  sum  was  much  greater  in  value  then  than  now,  and 
that  large  fortunes  are  both  larger  and  more  numerous  ;  but  it  may  be 
added  that  the  living  rival  this  munificence  and  exceed  it  in  amount.  We 
are  forbidden  to  name  the  living,  and  it  is  impossible  to  name  all  those 
who  are  entitled  to  honor  as  examples  of  charity  among  the  dead." 


CHAP,  in  INDIVIDUAL   CHARITY  333 

itself  in  the  work  of  private  agencies.  We  have  no  method 
comparable  to  that  of  Dr.  Chalmers  in  throwing  the 
responsibility  for  relief  entirely  upon  the  private  resources 
of  immediate  neighbors,  and  such  a  plan  might  prove  inade- 
quate, but  as  an  element  in  the  instinctive  and  unorganized 
methods  by  which  the  community  distributes  among  its 
members  the  shock  of  unexpected  want,  unofficial  neigh- 
borly assistance  is  always  to  be  given  a  liberal  recognition. 
Allied  with  this,  although  upon  a  somewhat  different 
basis,  may  be  placed  the  professional  services  of  physicians 
in  the  charity  work  of  which  some  falls  to  the  share  of 
every  physician,  and  the  information  and  advice  given  by 
lawyers  who  untangle  many  a  snarl  and  protect  from 
many  a  villany  without  compensation ;  assistance  given 
by  church  members  and  pastors  individually  to  their 
own  poor,  no  mention  of  which  appears  upon  the  official 
records  of  the  church ;  credit  extended  with  little  or  no 
hope  of  payment  by  retail  dealers,  who  may  be  nearly  as 
poor  as  their  customers ;  forbearance  of  landlords  in  the 
matter  of  rents;  the  advance  of  wages  before  they  are 
earned,  by  employers  ;  and  the  various  other  kinds  of 
assistance  analogous  to  these.  They  are  but  one  step 
removed  from  that  neighborly  charity  which  gives  be- 
cause of  personal  acquaintance.  It  may  be  said  that 
these  are  professional  or  business  relations,  rather  than 
personal,  yet  the  underlying  motive  is  similar.  The  im- 
pulse is  a  charitable  one,  and  if  in  some  instances  it  is  a 
professional  rather  than  a  charitable  spirit,  it  is  a  magnani- 
mous, altruistic,  professional  spirit  springing  from  the 
same  qualities  that  give  rise  to  neighborliness,  friendship, 
and  charity.  It  is  wholly  unmeasured  and  immeasurable 
in  amount.  It  is  not  to  be  denied  that  it  is  sometimes 
ill  advised  and  unfortunate  in  its  results.  It  is,  how- 
ever, fundamental,  sound,  and  sensible  as  a  feature  in  the 
relief  of  distress.  It  is  one  of  those  elastic  and  elusive, 
but  necessary,  social  forces  which  supplement  organized 
schemes  and  insure  needed  assistance  where,  from  igno- 
rance of  the  necessity  or  from  a  failure  on  the  part  of  those 
who  are  in  trouble  to  act  in  what  might  be  considered  the 
rational  manner,  the  more  systematic  plans  might  mis- 
carry. It  is  therefore  a  creditable  as  well  as  a  consider- 


334  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  in 

able  element  in  the  relief  system,  and  it  is  not  the  least 
of  its  advantages  that  it  gives  peculiar  scope  for  the 
development  of  those  qualities  in  the  individuals  which 
eventually  provide  organized  charity  as  well  as  individ- 
ual assistance.  In  America  such  charity  is  spontaneous 
in  all  professions  and  callings,  and  among  persons  of  all 
grades  of  income. 

It  might  not  seem  amiss  to  enumerate  in  this  connec- 
tion as  an  agency  for  the  relief  of  needy  families  those 
means  of  self-protection  from  the  evil  results  of  sickness, 
accident,  and  death  which  rest  upon  a  business  basis,  such 
as  benefit  societies,  benefit  features  of  labor  organizations, 
fraternal  associations,  insurance  societies,  and  clubs  of 
various  kinds.  They  are  not,  however,  charities,  al- 
though they  are  of  the  greatest  possible  service  in  making 
charity  in  its  lower  forms  unnecessary.  If  such  preven- 
tive organizations  covered  the  whole  field  of  industry  and 
if  personal  thrift  were  developed  to  the  point  at  which 
laborers  did  their  own  saving  instead  of  paying  large 
sums  to  others  to  do  their  saving  for  them,  the  need  for 
providing  relief  would  almost  disappear,  as  the  number  of 
needy  families  would  be  so  small  that  relatives  or  neigh- 
bors would  easily  be  found  to  care  for  them.  There 
would  still  be  room  for  both  the  kinds  of  charity  to  which 
reference  has  last  been  made,  but  they  could  be  exercised 
to  a  considerable  extent  in  higher  spheres.  Instead  of 
providing  fuel,  clothing,  and  shelter,  they  would  give  in- 
creased opportunities  for  social,  educational,  and  industrial 
advancement,  and  would  only  in  rare  instances  need  to 
provide  the  necessaries  of  life  for  those  who  are  unable 
to  supply  their  own  wants.  Plans  of  insurance  and  self- 
help  are  not  a  part  of  a  system  of  relief,  but  they  are  not 
to  be  overlooked  as  welcome  alternatives. 

There  remains  a  class  of  special  agencies  which  have  to 
do  with  the  care  and  relief  of  needy  families,  but  which 
do  not  administer  material  relief  in  the  ordinary  sense. 
Illustrations  of  these  are  :  — 

I.  The  free  employment  agencies,  and  agencies  which, 
while  making  a  reasonable  charge  for  the  services  ren- 
dered, do  this  in  such  a  way  as  to  make  it  possible  for  one 
who  is  without  means  to  take  advantage  of  their  facili- 


CHAP,  in  FREE   EMPLOYMENT  AGENCIES  335 

ties,  making  payment  after  employment  has  been  secured 
and  wages  received. 

II.  Day  nurseries,  kindergartens,  and  manual  training 
or  industrial  schools,  which,  either  without  compensation 
or  at  moderate  prices,  relieve  working  women  of  the  care 
of  their  children   during  the  hours  when  they  are  em- 
ployed. 

III.  Agencies  for  the  promotion  of  thrift,  which  provide 
easy  means  of  saving  small  amounts,  thus  lessening  the 
temptation  to  extravagance,  and  making  the  way  easy  for 
the  safe  investment  of  small  sums. 

IV.  Dispensaries,  which  afford  medical  and  surgical 
treatment  and  medicines  either  free  or  at  small  charge, 
treatment  being  given  at  the  dispensary,  or,  when  neces- 
sary, by  visits  at  the  home  of  the  patients  made  by  dis- 
pensary physicians. 

The  free  employment  agencies  have  sprung  in  part 
from  the  desire  to  substitute  normal  employment  both 
for  relief  and  for  artificially  created  work,  and  in  part 
from  the  discovery  of  outrageous  abuses  practised  upon 
those  needing  employment  by  some  of  the  ordinary  com- 
mercial agencies,  which  take  advantage  of  the  necessity 
of  the  poor  to  compel  them  to  accept  exorbitant  terms. 
As  far  as  the  first  of  these  two  objects  is  concerned,  the 
free  bureaus  have  had  very  limited  success.  In  order 
to  win  the  confidence  of  employers,  they  are  under  the 
necessity  of  recommending  only  competent  persons  who 
can  provide  satisfactory  references,  but  such  persons  can 
ordinarily  find  employment  themselves.  The  natural  re- 
sult is  that  the  lists  of  persons  who  are  really  placed 
in  positions  do  not,  to  any  very  great  extent,  overlap  the 
lists  of  the  beneficiaries  of  relief  societies.  The  natural 
beneficiary  of  the  free  employment  agencies  is  in  a  slightly 
higher  class  industrially  than  the  beneficiary  of  public  or 
private  relief  agencies.  Nevertheless,  both  the  free  em- 
ployment agency  and  those  which  aid  with  the  under- 
standing that  payment  may  be  made  after  employment  is 
secured,  render  an  important  service,  and  constitute  an 
element  in  the  general  system  of  aiding  those  who  are  in 
distress  which  cannot  be  neglected.  One  of  the  oldest  of 
these  agencies  is  the  Industrial  Aid  Society  for  the  Pre- 


336  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

vention  of  Pauperism,  which  has  been  in  existence  in  the 
city  of  Boston  since  1835.  It  conducts  a  free  employment 
bureau,  places  men  and  women,  boys  and  girls,  singly  and 
in  families,  for  every  variety  of  work,  transient  and  perma- 
nent, in  city  and  in  country.  In  the  winter  it  employs 
men  in  cleaning  ice  and  snow  from  the  railroads,  streets, 
and  yards.  It  also  pursues  the  policy  of  sending  to  fac- 
tory towns  families  with  several  children  over  fourteen 
years  of  age. 

The  most  instructive  experiment  of  this  kind  was  that  of 
the  New  York  Employment  Society,  which  grew  out  of  the 
unusual  distress  of  the  winter  of  1893-1894.  The  society 
was  incorporated  under  the  above  name  and  later  merged  in 
the  Cooper  Union  Labor  Bureau,  conducted  for  five  years 
as  a  department  of  the  New  York  Association  for  Improv- 
ing the  Condition  of  the  Poor,  and  discontinued  on  Sep- 
tember 30,  1900,  after  the  establishment  of  a  Free  State 
Employment  Bureau,  and  a  general  improvement  in  busi- 
ness conditions,  resulting  in  a  decrease  in  the  number  of 
unemployed. 

The  principles  laid  down  by  this  agency  were  that  no 
man  should  be  registered  who  had  not  been  at  least  six 
months  in  the  state.  It  was  not  the  intention  that  benev- 
olent funds  should  be  allowed  to  attract  the  unemployed 
from  the  country  or  from  other  cities.  Evidences  of 
competency  were  also  demanded.  It  was  felt  to  be  in- 
admissible that  the  inefficient  should  be  pushed  ahead  of 
capable  men  by  the  special  efforts  of  the  bureau,  although 
there  might  perhaps  be  no  objection  to  the  practice  on  the 
part  of  personal  friends,  missionaries,  and  visitors  of  sup- 
plementing individual  efforts  of  inefficient,  shiftless  men 
in  the  hope  of  gradually  transforming  and  developing 
the  qualities  in  which  they  were  deficient.  Investigation 
of  moral  character  was  also  held  to  be  essential.  Even  com- 
petent workmen,  if  addicted  to  drink,  gambling,  or  other 
evil  habits,  were  not  to  be  aided  by  the  bureau,  and, 
finally,  married  men  with  families,  or  those  having  others 
dependent  upon  them,  were  given  preference  over  single 
men.  Were  there  sufficient  work  for  all  who  were  willing 
and  competent  and  of  good  character,  this  principle  would 
be  void,  but  during  periods  of  industrial  depression,  when 


CHAP,  in  VARIOUS   EXPERIMENTS  337 

there  are  several  applicants  for  every  vacant  position,  a 
discrimination  was  believed  to  be  legitimate. 

Although  the  committee  in  charge  of  the  bureau  did  not 
think  it  advisable  to  continue  it  under  improved  business 
conditions,  and  in  competition  with  free  labor  advertise- 
ments in  daily  papers,  with  the  Free  State  Labor  Bureau, 
and  with  commercial  agencies,  —  which  on  a  business 
basis  aggressively  canvassed  and  advertised  for  available 
positions  for  employment,  —  they  remained  of  the  opinion 
that  the  free  labor  bureau  is  an  important  factor  in  phil- 
anthropic work.  If  such  a  bureau  is  to  be  operated  pri- 
vately, it  would,  in  the  opinion  of  the  committee  which  had 
gained  this  experience,  better  be  conducted  by  a  society 
organized  for  the  particular  purpose,  rather  than  by  one 
engaged  in  general  relief  work.  The  two  reasons  urged 
for  this  belief  are,  that  many  men  whom  the  bureau  would 
be  especially  designed  to  help  would  not  avail  themselves 
of  its  opportunities  on  account  of  the  tinge  of  charity  re- 
sulting from  its  connection  with  a  relief  society,  and  that 
employers  are  likely  to  assume  that  lower  wages  can  be 
paid,  because  those  who  come  to  the  bureau  are  evidently 
in  urgent  need  of  work.  To  the  first  of  these  objections 
it  may  be  replied  that  the  fact  that  the  bureau  is  conducted 
independently  does  not  lessen  its  charitable  character,  as- 
suming that  it  is  operated  from  philanthropic  motives;  and 
to  the  second,  that  a  relief  society  would  obviously  be  doing 
less  than  its  duty  if  it  enabled  employers  to  obtain  work- 
men at  less  than  current  wages,  although  it  must  be  ad- 
mitted that  such  societies  have  not  been  free  from  criticism 
in  this  respect.  It  is  true,  as  has  already  been  pointed  out, 
that  those  who  can  properly  be  placed  by  a  free  employ- 
ment bureau  are  not  as  a  rule  the  persons  who  are  legiti- 
mately under  the  care  of  relief  agencies,  and  there  would, 
therefore,  seem  to  be  no  adequate  reason  for  conducting 
the  two  as  parts  of  one  institution. 

In  the  five  years  ending  September  30, 1900,  the  bureau 
registered  and  investigated  the  references  of  23,485  men 
and  boys.  Forty-five  per  cent  of  these  had  satisfactory 
references  ;  25  per  cent  had  unsatisfactory  references  ;  and 
21  per  cent  were  unknown  by  those  to  whom  they  had  re- 
ferred. Of  the  men  whose  references  were  satisfactory, 


338  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  in 

75  per  cent,  or  9595,  were  placed,  at  an  average  expense  of 
12.08. 

Upon  a  somewhat  different  plan  is  the  free  employment 
bureau  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  conducted 
by  the  Particular  Council  of  New  York.  Its  unique  feature 
is  that  it  has  grown  out  of  the  needs  of  the  conferences 
established  in  the  various  parishes  of  the  church  with  which 
the  society  is  affiliated.  Comparatively  few  of  the  men 
for  whom  positions  are  found  apply  directly  at  the  bureau, 
most  of  them  being  men  who  are  known  to  the  visitors 
of  the  society  to  be  in  need  of  employment  because  of 
application  for  assistance  in  other  ways.  On  the  other 
hand  the  positions  to  be  found  are  made  known  to  the 
bureau  by  members  of  the  society,  who  are  asked  to  report 
to  the  bureau  vacancies  among  their  own  employees,  in 
business  houses,  retail  stores,  etc.  This  plan  enables  the 
bureau  to  avoid  the  expense  and  disadvantages  of  public 
advertising,  and  gives  reliable  information  regarding  both 
applicants  and  positions. 

The  records  of  the  free  employment  bureau  of  the  United 
Hebrew  Charities  of  the  same  city  show  that  in  a  period 
of  twenty-four  years  work  was  procured  for  65,774  persons, 
although  these  figures  would  probably  be  somewhat  re- 
duced if  the  statistical  methods  which  were  later  intro- 
duced in  the  bureau  had  been  in  vogue  during  the  entire 
period. 

Several  states  maintain  free  employment  agencies. 
That  of  Illinois  is  typical,  its  law  having  gone  into  effect 
on  August  1,  1899.  Under  this  law  the  managers  of 
employment  agencies  for  hire  are  required  to  pay  a  license 
of  $200  per  annum,  and  to  give  a  bond  of  $1000.  Mem- 
bers of  local  unions  were  largely  instrumental  in  secur- 
ing the  new  law.  The  manner  of  conducting  the  free 
employment  agencies  is  specifically  provided,  and  it  is 
expected  that  the  work  will  be  carried  on  throughout  the 
state  systematically.  Superintendents  of  local  bureaus 
are  required  to  report  on  Thursday  of  each  week  to  the 
state  bureau  of  labor  statistics  the  number  of  applications 
for  positions  and  for  help  during  the  preceding  week,  and 
also  the  unfilled  applications  remaining  on  the  books  at 
the  beginning  of  the  week.  The  secretary  of  labor  statistics 


CHAP,  in  DAY  NURSERIES  339 

is  to  print  each  week  lists  showing  separately  and  in  com- 
bination the  lists  received  from  each  office,  and  is  to  mail 
this  list  to  each  agency.  A  copy  of  these  lists  is  also 
to  be  mailed  to  the  factory  and  mine  inspectors  of  the 
state.  It  is  the  duty  of  the  various  superintendents  to 
place  themselves  in  communication  with  the  principal 
manufacturers,  merchants,  and  other  employers  of  labor, 
in  order  that  the  cooperation  of  employers  and  labor  may 
be  obtained.  To  this  end  the  superintendents  are  author- 
ized to  advertise  in  the  daily  papers  such  situations  as 
they  can  fill,  and  they  may  advertise  in  a  general  way  for 
the  cooperation  of  large  contractors  and  employers,  in 
trade  journals  or  other  publications  which  may  reach  such 
employers.  The  sum  of  $400  per  annum  is  allowed  the 
superintendent  for  advertising  purposes. 

The  day  nursery  in  its  simplest  form  is  a  home  in 
which  the  children  may  be  left  during  the  day  in  order 
to  relieve  the  mother.1  This  is  a  comparatively  new 
form  of  assistance,  but  it  has  speedily  become  popular, 
and  its  usefulness  is  unquestionable.  Two  objects  have 
been  kept  in  view  by  the  managers  of  day  nurseries : 
First,  to  provide  care  for  children  who  would  otherwise 
be  homeless  or  without  proper  care  through  the  day  be- 
cause the  mother  is  necessarily  employed  ;  second,  to 
enable  mothers  who  otherwise  must  stay  at  home  to  accept 
employment,  thus  obviating  the  necessity  for  relief.  It 
has  already  become  reasonably  clear  that  indiscriminate 
aid  in  the  form  of  care  for  children  in  day  nurseries  is 
nearly  as  objectionable  as  any  other  indiscriminate  relief. 
To  enable  the  mother  to  work  when  the  father  is  lazy 
or  shiftless  or  incompetent  is  sometimes  to  incur  direct 
responsibility  for  perpetuating  bad  family  conditions. 
To  receive  children  whose  mothers  are  not  employed,  but 
who  find  it  difficult  otherwise  to  keep  their  children  from 
the  street,  seems  like  a  natural  and  praiseworthy  course, 
but  experienced  workers  come  to  refuse  to  do  this,  on 
the  ground  that  it  removes  the  chief  incentives  for  bet- 
ter accommodations  at  home.  To  receive  children  whose 


1  "The  Scope  of  Day  Nursery  Work,"  Mary  H.  Dewey,  Proceedings  of 
National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction,  1897,  p.  105. 


340  PRINCIPLES  OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

mother  works  from  a  mere  whim  or  desire  to  have  a  little 
more  in  the  way  of  dress  or  furniture  is  a  doubtful  policy.1 
The  somewhat  striking  discovery  was  made  by  the  mana- 
gers of  one  day  nursery  that  by  providing  practically 
free  care  for  the  children  of  certain  colored  waiters  they 
were  enabling  them  to  work  for  the  well-to-do  students 
of  a  great  university  at  wages  which,  except  for  the  wife's 
earnings,  could  not  have  supported  the  family. 

Such  are  the  economic  and  social  problems  which  are 
beginning  to  complicate  the  day  nursery,  as,  indeed,  they 
affect  all  charitable  work.  They  are  not  incapable  of 
solution.  Here,  as  in  other  forms  of  child-saving  work,  a 
snare  lies  before  those  who  hope  "  to  save  the  child,"  dis- 
regarding the  other  members  of  the  family.  The  family 
must  be  considered  as  a  whole.  Neither  the  child  nor  the 
adult  can  be  dealt  with  separately.  The  managers  of  the 
day  nursery  who  are  actuated  by  a  desire  to  be  of  real  ser- 
vice to  the  families  whose  children  are  received  must  in 
each  instance  face  the  question  as  to  whether  the  family  is 
a  proper  one  to  receive  this  particular  form  of  assistance  — 
whether  the  result  in  this  particular  instance  is  likely  on 
the  whole  to  be  beneficial.  It  will  often  happen,  as  in  the 
case  of  needy  widows  with  small  children,  homeless  chil- 
dren, children  of  sick  .mothers  or  of  mothers  who  are 
obliged  to  work  because  of  sick  fathers,  that  the  day 
nursery  is  a  distinct  blessing,  offering  self-help  —  which 
is  always,  when  practicable,  the  best  kind  of  help.  The 
introduction  to  the  family  which  is  always  given  by  caring 
for  the  children  in  a  day  nursery  can  nearly  always  be 
followed  up  with  advantage  by  the  matron  or  the  mana- 
gers. By  suggestion  and  encouragement  the  attempt  may 
be  made  to  increase  the  sense  of  responsibility  on  the  part 
of  the  parents,  and  aid  may  be  given  in  building  up  a 
healthy,  prudent  family  life.2 

The  kindergarten  and  the  manual  training  or  industrial 
school  as  educational  agencies  are  an  important  part  of  the 
system  of  public  education.  They  are  referred  to  here 

1  "  Day  Nursery  Work,"  Miss  M.  H.  Burgess,  National  Conference  of 
Charities  and  Correction,  1894,  p.  424. 

2  "Boston  Charities  Directory,"  p.  68,  description  of  free  day  nurseries 
supported  by  Mrs.  Quincy  A.  Shaw. 


CHAP,  in       ENCOURAGEMENT   OF   SMALL   SAVINGS  341 

incidentally,  because  to  some  extent  they  perform  a  ser- 
vice similar  to  that  of  the  day  nurseries,  caring  for  chil- 
dren who  would  otherwise  demand  the  time  of  the  mother 
who  has  had  to  become  the  breadwinner.  The  child-sav- 
ing committee  of  the  twenty-fourth  National  Conference 
of  Charities  and  Correction  took  the  ground  that  the  day 
nursery,  kindergarten,  and  manual  training  school  are  aids 
to  child  saving  which  ought  not  to  be  dependent  upon  fit- 
ful benevolence,  but  which  should  be  placed  in  alignment 
with  common  schools,  for  the  protection  and  culture 
of  child  life,  and  the  aid  of  those  who  toil  for  the  support 
of  humble  homes.  Public  sentiment  would  generally  sup- 
port this  proposition  as  far  as  it  relates  to  the  second  and 
third  of  these  classes,  but  the  day  nursery  would  still  be 
held  in  all  parts  of  the  country  to  be  a  suitable  object  for 
private  benevolence,  rather  than  an  institution  for  public 
maintenance  and  control.  The  day  nursery  is  frequently 
associated  with  a  social  settlement,  a  church,  or  a  chari- 
table society,  but  it  is  as  frequently  established  indepen- 
dently, and  there  is  now  a  federation  of  day  nurseries  which 
is  national  in  its  scope. 

A  systematic  effort  to  promote  small  savings  was  in- 
augurated by  the  Charity  Organization  Society  of  New- 
port, in  the  year  1880.  Discovering  that  many  of  the 
poor  who  applied  to  them  for  relief  during  the  winter  had 
exactly  the  same  income  as  others  who  lived  comfortably 
throughout  the  year  through  better  management  and 
greater  providence,  the  society  secured  the  services  of 
four  women  who  volunteered  to  call  every  week  from 
house  to  house  to  collect  the  small  sums  that  these  people 
could  afford  to  lay  by.1  This  society  has  continued  its 
work  since  that  time,  increasing  the  number  of  its  visitors 
to  fourteen.  In  the  year  1903  the  sum  of  $13,922.40  was 
collected.  The  total  amount  deposited  with  the  society 
during  its  twenty-four  years  of  operation  is  over  175,000. 
In  estimating  the  value  of  this  work  a  recent  report  of  the 
society  says  :  "  There  is  the  encouragement  of  habits  of 
economy,  foresight,  and  thrift  among  the  small  wage- 
earners  of  our  community ;  there  is  the  prevention  of 

1  "The  Savings  Society,"  by  Anna  Townsend  Scribner,  National  Con- 
ference of  Charities  and  Correction,  1887,  p.  143. 


342  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

hardship  and  partial  dependence  on  charity  which  would 
be  consequent  upon  a  winter  of  enforced  idleness  or  un- 
certain employment ;  for  the  most  of  the  saving  is  done 
in  the  summer  months  when  the  facilities  for  money  mak- 
ing are  increased,  and  the  most  of  the  withdrawals  of 
savings  come  in  the  winter  when  those  who  secure  labor 
during  our  season1  are  thrown  out  of  work  at  its  finish. 
There  is  the  personal  contact  of  our  poor  with  the  savings 
collectors,  a  contact  which  almost  always  ripens  into  a 
friendship  affording  opportunity  for  advice,  comfort,  and 
helpful  suggestion  in  household  administration." 

In  such  a  city  as  Newport,  where  there  are  great  sea- 
sonal fluctuations  in  the  amount  of  employment,  and  where 
the  lavishness  of  the  rich,  at  the  times  of  their  temporary 
residence,  tends  to  pauperize  the  poor,  there  is  special  need 
of  an  aggressive  counter  influence  such  as  is  exerted  by  a 
vigorously  prosecuted  scheme  for  the  encouragement  of 
small  savings. 

From  this  beginning  the  system  of  small  savings  has 
extended  throughout  the  country.  Two  such  societies 
were  formed  in  Boston  in  1887  and  1890  respectively. 
The  Penny  Provident  Fund  of  the  Charity  Organization 
Society  of  the  city  of  New  York  was  organized  in  1888, 
and  now  collects  annually  about  $100,000  from  over  100,000 
depositors.  The  committee  of  the  fund  announce  dis- 
tinctly that  it  is  not  a  savings  bank,  but  aims  to  do  what 
savings  banks  do  not  do  —  to  invite  savings  of  small  sums, 
less  than  one  dollar,  from  adults  as  well  as  children.  De- 
posits of  one  cent  and  upward  are  receipted  for  by  stamps 
attached  to  a  stamp  card  given  to  each  depositor,  analo- 
gous to  the  postal  savings  system  of  England.  When  a 
sufficient  sum  has  thus  been  saved,  depositors  are  encour- 
aged to  open  an  account  in  a  savings  bank  where  interest 
can  be  earned. 

The  work  of  charity  organization  societies  and  bureaus 
of  charities  is  to  a  large  extent  educational,  and  although 
private  agencies  themselves,  they  have  the  aspect  of 
bureaus  of  information  about  charitable  work  of  every 
description.  Besides  these  functions,  however,  they  have 
an  exceedingly  important  part  to  play  in  the  immediate 
1  As  a  summer  resort. 


CHAP,  in          CHARITY   ORGANIZATION   SOCIETIES  343 

task  of  relieving  distress,  and  for  this  reason  it  will  be 
advisable  to  include  here  some  account  of  their  origin  and 
method  of  work.  It  is  true  that  this  involves  the  some- 
what thankless  task  of  doing  again  what  has  already  been 
well  done.  The  report  of  the  committee  on  charity  or- 
ganization in  cities  at  the  National  Conference  of  Char- 
ities and  Correction  in  1880,  presented  by  Oscar  C. 
McCulloch,  the  history  of  charity  organization  in  the 
United  States,  submitted  by  Charles  D.  Kellogg  as  chair- 
man of  the  same  committee  at  the  National  Conference  of 
1893,  the  chapter  on  the  organization  of  charities  in 
Warner's  "  American  Charities "  ;  Miss  Mary  E.  Rich- 
mond's article,  "  What  is  charity  organization  ? "  in  the 
Charities  Review  for  January,  1900  ;  and  the  attempt 
made  by  the  present  writer,  as  chairman  of  the  committee 
on  the  organization  of  charity,  to  ascertain  what  changes, 
if  any,  have  taken  place  in  the  ideals  and  fundamental 
objects  of  such  societies  within  the  twenty  years  of  their 
history,  the  results  of  which  were  embodied  in  the  report 
to  the  National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction  of 
1899,  cover  the  ground  somewhat  fully,  not  to  say  re- 
peatedly. Especially  valuable  is  Mr.  Kellogg's  report  in 
tracing  the  conditions  which  prevailed  at  the  period,  now 
twenty-five  years  past,  when  the  charity  organization 
movement  took  its  rise  in  this  country ;  the  several  inde- 
pendent but  nearly  simultaneous  beginnings  in  Phila- 
delphia, New  York  City,  Buffalo,  Newport,  Cincinnati, 
Brooklyn,  and  Indianapolis ;  and  finally,  the  various 
methods  of  organization  adopted,  and  the  lines  of  develop- 
ment in  the  different  societies. 

The  resolution  adopted  by  the  State  Board  of  Charities 
of  New  York  on  October  11,  1881,  describes  a  condition 
of  affairs  which  was  more  favorable  than  that  to  be  found 
in  other  communities,  rather  than  less  so.  The  preamble 
and  resolution  were  as  follows  :  — 

"  Whereas,  There  are  in  the  city  of  New  York  a  large 
number  of  independent  societies  engaged  in  teaching  and 
relieving  the  poor  of  the  city  in  their  own  homes  ;  and 

"  Whereas,  There  is  at  present  no  system  of  cooperation 
by  which  these  societies  can  receive  definite  mutual  in- 
formation in  regard  to  each  other  ;  and 


344  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

"  Whereas,  Without  some  such  system  it  is  impossible 
that  much  of  their  effort  should  not  be  wasted,  and  even 
do  harm  by  encouraging  pauperism  and  imposture  ;  there- 
fore, 

"  Resolved,  That  the  commissioners  of  New  York  City 
are  hereby  appointed  a  committee  to  take  such  steps  as 
they  may  deem  wise  to  inaugurate  a  system  of  mutual 
help  and  cooperation  between  such  societies." 
.:.••  Before  this  time,  as  has  been  shown,  there  had  been  two 
distinctly  progressive  movements  in  the  organization  of 
private  relief,  one  at  the  beginning  of  the  nineteenth  cen- 
tury, or  earlier,  for  the  establishment  of  relief  societies, 
which  were  to  take  the  place  of  indiscriminate  almsgiving 
by  individuals,  and  which  were  to  increase  the  funds  avail- 
able for  supplying  the  needs  of  particular  classes  which 
were  thought  to  have  been  neglected.  This  movement 
has  continued  intermittently  to  the  present  time,  and  every 
year  sees  the  formation  of  new  societies  and  funds.  The 
second  was  the  formation  of  associations  for  improving 
the  condition  of  the  poor,  whose  functions  were  not  to  be 
confined  to  relief,  although  they  absorbed  in  many  in- 
stances older  and  smaller  societies.  As  the  name  indi- 
cates, their  founders  expected  that  these  associations  would 
promote  benevolent  enterprises  of  various  kinds,  and  they 
were  not  to  deal  in  relief  at  all  except  in  so  far  as  this 
could  be  made  a  lever  for  the  permanent  elevation  of  those 
to  whom  it  was  given.  To  improve  the  condition  of  the 
poor,  as  far  as  is  consistent  with  this  aim,  was  their  object. 
The  particular  business  and  objects  of  these  associations, 
as  stated  in  the  incorporation  of  the  one  first  formed,  are 
the  elevation  of  the  physical  and  moral  condition  of  the 
indigent,  and,  as  far  as  is  compatible  with  these  objects, 
the  relief  of  their  necessities. 

Unfortunately  these  objects  were  seldom  kept  as  clearly 
in  view  as  they  were  at  the  time  when  the  first  societies 
were  founded.  At  the  end  of  the  seventies  they  had  be- 
come for  the  most  part  simply  relief  societies,  and  often 
their  administration  of  relief  had  fallen  into  routine 
methods,  and  was  far  from  contributing  as  much  as  it 
should  to  the  elevation  of  the  physical  and  moral  condi- 
tion of  the  indigent.  There  were  then  in  many  cities, 


CHAP.    Ill 


INVESTIGATION  345 


under  various  names,  voluntary  general  relief  societies, 
professedly  ready  to  undertake  any  sort  of  human  task 
within  their  ability.1  Little  use  was  made  of  volunteer 
friendly  visitors,  and  consequently  organized  relief,  if  it 
accomplished  its  purpose  of  aiding  the  destitute,  did  not 
educate  the  charitable  public  in  intelligent  and  discrimi- 
nating relief  methods.  Public  outdoor  relief  was  in  <^- 
many  places  lavish,  and  its  administration  careless,  ex- 
travagant, and,  in  some  instances,  corrupt.  There  were 
no  adequate  safeguards  against  deception,  no  common 
registration  of  relief  to  prevent  duplication,  and  private 
almsgiving,  while  it  was  profuse  in  meeting  the  obvious 
distress,  was  admittedly  and  wholly  inadequate  in  meet- 
ing situations  which  require  generous  financial  contribu- 
tions, and  long-continued  and  persistent  personal  attention. 
To  meet  these  recognized  evils,  and  the  lack  of  coopera- 
tion to  which  reference  is  made  in  the  resolution  of  the 
New  York  State  Board  of  Charities  already  quoted,  the 
plan  which  had  been  successfully  in  operation  in  London 
was  proposed  by  those  who  were  considering  possible 
remedies. 

The  essential  features  of  the  movement,  which  distin-  - 
guish  it,  not  because  they  were  novel  ideas,  but  because 
they  were  worked  out  for  the  first  time  consistently  and 
because  the  societies  have  clung  to  them  with  steadily 
increasing  faith  in  their  potency,  are  investigation,  regis- 
tration, cooperation,  adequate  relief,  and  volunteer  per- 
sonal service.  In  the  hands  of  the  charity  organization 
societies,  investigation  has  come  to  mean  something 
much  more  than  it  had  meant  for  those  who  proclaimed 
the  necessity  for  discriminating  between  the  deserving 
and  the  undeserving.  Investigation  is  not  solely  or 
even  primarily  for  the  purpose  of  thwarting  the  expec- 
tations of  impostors.  It  is  not  even  merely  a  device  for 
preventing  the  waste  of  charity  upon  unworthy  objects 
in  order  that  it  may  be  used  for  those  who  are  really  in 
need.  Investigation  is  rather  an  instrument  for  intelli-  £• 
gent  treatment  of  distress.  It  is  analogous  to  the  diag- 
nosis of  the  physician,  who  does  not  attempt  to  treat  a 

1  Report  of  the  Committee  on  History  of  Charity  Organization,  Charles 
D,  Kellogg,  National  Conference  of  Charities  and  Correction,  1893. 


346  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

serious  malady  from  a  glance  at  its  superficial  indications, 
but  who  carefully  inquires  into  hidden  and  early  mani- 
festations of  the  disease  and  seeks  to  know  as  much  as 
possible  of  the  complicating  influences  with  which  he 
must  reckon  in  effecting  a  cure.  Investigation,  therefore, 
while  it  should  never  be  inconsiderate  or  blundering  or 
heartless,  must  be  painstaking,  conscientious,  and  honest. 
It  will  exclude  irrelevant  gossip,  but  will  embrace  a  close 
scrutiny  of  the  exact  facts,  its  aim  being  not  to  enable  the 
investigating  agent  to  affix  a  label  of  worthy  or  unworthy, 
but  to  determine  what  help  can  be  given,  from  what  source 
it  should  come,  and  how  these  agencies  may  be  brought 
into  definite  and  hearty  cooperation. 

This  kind  of  investigation  has  been  developed  in  the 
work  of  the  charity  organization  societies.  Its  possibili- 
ties have  been  only  gradually  unfolded.  They  are  real- 
ized only  gradually  in  the  experience  of  individual  workers. 
Investigations  made  at  the  outset,  even  by  one  who  has 
thoroughly  grasped  the  principles  involved,  are  certain  to 
appear  to  himself,  in  the  light  of  later  experience,  to  be 
either  superficial  and  inadequate,  or  crude,  mechanical,  and 
unnecessarily  elaborate.  A  bad  investigation  may  be  either 
too  full  or  too  meagre,  or  it  may  be  neither. 

The  investigation  is  made,  not  for  its  own  sake,  but  as 
a  necessary  step  in  the  careful  and  adequate  remedy  of  the 
defects  or  misfortunes  that  have  brought  the  applicant  to 
seek  relief.  In  the  majority  of  cases,  however,  if  the 
investigation  is  wise  and  complete,  it  will  reveal  personal 
sources  and  facts  which  will  enable  the  situation  to  be  met 
without  calling  in  outside  aid,  and  in  this  way,  in  a  large 
proportion  of  instances,  investigation  might  be  said  to  be- 
come a  substitute  for  relief.  One  of  the  oldest  and  best- 
managed  general  relief  societies  has  recently  designated  one 
visitor,  who  has  unusual  qualifications  for  this  kind  of 
work,  to  attempt  to  meet  every  case  assigned  to  her  by 
personal  work,  investigation,  and  the  following  up  of  clews 
suggested  by  the  investigation,  without  disbursing  any 
material  relief  whatever.  It  is  confidently  believed  that 
she  will  succeed,  although  the  number  of  families  in  her 
charge  will  necessarily  be  much  smaller  than  if  she  were 
authorized  to  pursue  the  usual  method  of  investigating 


.  in  COOPERATION  347 

superficially  and  giving  material  relief  where  it  seems  to 
be  needed. 

The  second  fundamental  characteristic  of  the  charity 
organization  societies  is  their  insistence  upon  cooperation. 
By  this  is  meant  not  merely  agreement  among  various 
societies  and  organized  agencies  upon  general  plans  of  coop- 
eration, but  rather  cooperation  in  dealing  with  individual 
cases  of  distress  upon  the  basis  of  facts  ascertained  by  inves- 
tigation. It  involves,  in  other  words,  acceptance  of  the 
plan  of  relief  which  is  calculated  to  remedy  the  defects  or 
to  supply  the  deficiencies  that  have  been  discovered.  This 
may  mean  that  each  of  the  cooperating  individuals  or  socie- 
ties shall  supplement  the  efforts  of  the  others  by  contribut- 
ing a  part  of  the  money  or  work  needed  ;  or  it  may  mean 
that  they  will  agree  to  a  division  of  work,  each  leaving  to 
the  other  a  part  for  which  its  facilities  are  adapted  ;  or  it 
may  mean  a  division  of  the  cases  to  be  dealt  with,  each 
agreeing  to  leave  entirely  to  the  other  certain  classes  of 
individuals  or  families  whose  needs  are  to  be  studied  and 
adequately  met  by  the  agency  to  which  they  are  assigned. 

One  of  the  simplest  forms  of  cooperation  is  that  between 
the  church  and  the  relief  agency,  secured  by  either  directly 
from  the  other  in  the  case  of  a  given  family,  or  secured  by 
the  agent  of  the  charity  organization  society  from  both.  In 
this  cooperation  material  needs  should  be  supplied  by  the 
relief  agency,  and  the  church  should  provide  the  neces- 
sary spiritual  oversight  and  the  necessary  formative  in- 
fluences for  the  children,  and,  if  necessary,  reformative 
influences  for  older  members  of  the  family.  It  sometimes 
happens  that  the  family  has  no  need  of  reformation,  that  it 
contains  within  itself  all  the  necessary  resources  for  edu- 
cation and  training,  while  the  financial  income  alone  is 
lacking  or  insufficient.  Even  under  such  circumstances 
the  companionship  of  new  friends  may  not  be  amiss ;  con- 
solation in  sickness  or  trouble,  encouragement  in  periods 
of  unusual  difficulties,  enlargement  of  social  opportunities, 
may  all  be  entirely  appropriate. 

This  involves  therefore  the  most  agreeable  form  of  that 
volunteer  personal  service  to  which  reference  has  been 
made  as  a  prominent  feature  of  the  charity  organization 
societies.  The  character  of  this  service  is  very  different 


348  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  in 

from  that  performed  by  the  old-fashioned  volunteer  almo- 
ner who  has  been  so  largely  displaced  by  the  trained 
visitor.  The  old  almoner  went  about  armed  with  a  little 
note  book  in  which  he  wrote  down  what  groceries  and  how 
much  fuel  would  be  needed  in  the  ensuing  month,  or  made 
an  entry  that  no  groceries  or  fuel  would  be  needed. 
These  books  were  checked  off  at  a  central  office  arid  the 
requisitions  honored  if  they  were  deemed  reasonable  and 
the  state  of  the  treasury  permitted.  The  whole  plan  was 
calculated  to  fix  the  idea  of  material  relief  in  the  visitor's 
mind  to  the  exclusion  of  every  other  idea.  In  the  newer 
societies  which  make  use  of  both  district  agent  and  friendly 
visitor,  the  latter  is  sent  upon  very  difficult  errands, — 
errands  which  she  can  perform  better  than  a  professional 
worker,  —  and  it  is  understood  that  relief  questions  are  in 
the  hands  of  the  agent. 

One  illustration  of  the  kind  of  work  which  falls  to 
the  friendly  visitor  has  been  cited,  but  in  most  cases, 
besides  this  agreeable  and  comparatively  easy  form  of 
friendly  visiting,  there  will  be  a  need  for  the  perform- 
ance of  sterner  tasks.  Habits  of  intemperance,  shiftless- 
ness,  and  foolish  expenditure  will  need  to  be  broken 
up.  Downright  ignorance  and  stupidity  will  need  to  be 
overcome.  It  is  necessary  to  give  wise  counsel  concern- 
ing employment,  and  to  suggest  readjustment  of  domes- 
tic arrangements.  Such  suggestion  and  instruction  from 
one  who  has  succeeded  in  life,  proffered  to  those  who  are 
less  successful,  might  easily  become  an  impertinence  and 
would  ordinarily  be  resented,  except  from  those  who  are 
already  on  an  intimate  footing.  Application  for  assistance, 
however,  when  made  either  to  an  individual  stranger  or  at 
the  bureau  of  a  relief  agency,  is  in  itself  a  confession  of 
complete  or  partial  failure  in  the  industrial  struggle,  and, 
although  it  may  be  accompanied  by  no  personal  fault,  it 
opens  the  door  for  demanding  complete  confidence  as  to  all 
the  circumstances  which  have  caused  such  partial  or  com- 
plete failure.  Such  application  is  ordinarily  made  for  the 
first  time  only  at  some  crisis  in  life  which  makes  confidence 
easy,  sweeping  away  the  ordinary  barriers  of  reserve.  The 
friendly  visitor,  whether  supplied  by  the  church  or  directly 
by  the  charity  organization  society,  must  appreciate  the 


CHAP,  in  VOLUNTEER  PERSONAL   SERVICE  349 

value  of  such  opportunities  and  utilize  them  to  gain  an 
insight  into  the  source  of  the  new  neighbor's  troubles,  lay- 
ing here  the  foundations  for  helpful  personal  relations 
which  are  to  be  continued  until  the  causes  of  dependence 
have  been  removed,  if  they  are  removable,  or  until  the 
plan  for  supplying  any  necessary  deficiency  shall  have  been 
thoroughly  worked  out  and  put  into  successful  operation. 

The  working  out  of  such  a  plan,  involving,  as  we  have 
seen,  investigation  and  cooperation  —  of  which  one  element 
should  always  be  friendly  personal  interest  and  another 
oftentimes  temporary  or  continuous  material  relief  —  the 
working  out  of  such  a  plan  and  carrying  it  through  with 
the  aid  of  the  friendly  visitor,  of  the  relief  agency,  and, 
not  least,  of  the  family  or  individual  to  be  helped  —  the 
working  out  of  a  definite  plan  for  meeting  the  precise 
difficulties  to  be  overcome,  and  the  long-continued  personal 
oversight  which  such  a  plan  involves,  is  what  is  meant  by 
the  organization  of  charity,  and  it  is  the  peculiar  task  of 
the  charity  organization  societies,  or  of  the  relief  societies 
and  individuals  who  do  their  work  on  behalf  of  the  needy 
in  accordance  with  the  principles  of  organized  charity. 

One  axiom  upon  which  it  has  been  necessary  to  insist 
far  more  strongly  than  to  reasonable  people  would  seem 
necessary  is  that  relief  must  be  efficient  and  adequate. 
Indiscriminate  almsgiving,  practised  through  the  cen- 
turies, seems  to  have  obscured  certain  elementary  and 
extremely  obvious  truths.  That  giving  money  or  the 
necessities  of  life,  without  return,  to  persons  who  are 
leading  vicious  and  useless  lives,  is,  in  effect,  manufactur- 
ing vice  and  degradation ;  that  it  is  a  travesty  upon  the 
name  of  charity  to  give  a  dollar  which,  by  barely  sustain- 
ing life  for  a  short  time,  outside  a  suitable  institution,  will 
frustrate  the  efforts  which  friends  already  interested  in 
the  beneficiary  are  making  to  induce  him  to  accept  decent 
shelter  and  provision  of  the  necessaries  of  life  within  such 
an  institution ;  that  the  giving  or  withholding  of  relief 
should  be  decided  primarily  with  reference  to  its  probable 
effect  upon  the  one  to  whom  it  is  given,  and  that  relief 
should  not  be  given  which  is  directly  harmful,  in  the  vain 
hope  that  it  will  in  some  way  promote  the  personal  sal- 
vation of  the  one  who  gives  ;  and,  finally,  that  charity 


350  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  in 

remains  a  duty  even  though  one  may  have  made  many 
mistakes  in  its  ministrations,  are  among  these  elementary 
truths. 

It  is  far  easier  to  drop  into  slipshod  methods  of  admin- 
istration than  to  maintain  a  high  standard  of  real  effi- 
ciency. It  is  easier  to  decide  to  give  half  a  ton  of  coal  to 
all  of  the  "  deserving  "  families  making  application  for  it 
than  to  deal  intelligently  with  each  family,  giving  in  some 
instances,  when  it  is  right  to  do  so,  several  tons  of  coal, 
and  in  other  instances  merely  a  bucketful,  until  other  and 
really  adequate  means  are  found  of  relieving  the  real  or 
apparent  distress,  and  in  still  others,  where  it  may  be  done 
without  too  much  danger,  leaving  the  applicants  to  learn 
by  personal  privation  the  necessity  for  saving,  from  even 
a  meagre  income,  sufficient  for  the  purchase  of  fuel  and  of 
other  necessaries.  When  the  city  gives  a  pension  of  $50 
a  year  to  all  of  the  indigent  blind  who  have  resided  in  it 
for  two  years,  it  affords  a  shining  example  of  inadequate 
relief.  The  indigent  blind  can  no  more  be  thrown  into  a 
general  class  and  treated  in  a  wholesale  manner  than  can  the 
indigent  who  have  lost  one  eye  or  those  who  have  failed 
in  the  management  of  fruit-stands.  The  principle  upon 
which  the  charity  organization  societies  insist  is  that  relief 
should  be  adequate  in  amount,  however  large  the  number 
of  persons  or  agencies  that  must  unite  to  provide  it,  that 
it  must  be  adapted  to  its  purpose,  not  consisting,  for  exam- 
ple, of  broken  food,  if  the  need  is  for  a  shovel  to  enable 
one  to  take  work  ;  that  the  miserable  habit  of  finding 
petty  excuses  for  acceding  to  the  wishes  of  the  applicant 
against  the  real  judgment  of  the  one  who  makes  the  deci- 
sion, must  be  absolutely  abandoned.  A  case  record  which 
fell  into  the  hands  of  the  writer  recently  tells  the  story 
of  four  generations  of  dependency  caused  directly  by  the 
character  of  the  persons  constituting  the  three  generations 
which  had  reached  maturity.  An  agent  to  whom  these 
facts  were  or  should  have  been  known,  calling  at  the 
request  of  some  citizen  who  had  referred  the  case,  gave 
groceries  upon  the  first  visit,  entering  upon  the  record 
"  Family  seems  unworthy.  Gave  groceries  because  family 
lives  in  basement  and  father  attempts  to  provide  other- 
wise." There  was  no  explanation  of  what  "  otherwise  " 


CHAP,  in  EFFICIENT  RELIEF  351 

meant,  but  it  could  truthfully  mean  only  otherwise  than 
by  honest  labor ;  and  the  action  of  the  visitor  is  another 
instance  of  inadequate  relief. 

The  charity  organization  societies  are  not  exempt  from 
the  danger  of  demoralization.  They  are  liable  to  precisely 
the  same  danger  as  relief  societies,  associations  for  improv- 
ing the  condition  of  the  poor,  and  individual  citizens  who 
desire  to  be  charitable.  Investigation  may  become  with 
them,  as  with  others,  a  perfunctory  and  meaningless  thing. 
For  cooperation,  in  the  proper  sense  of  that  term,  there 
may  be  substituted  an  easy  acquiescence  in  suggestions 
made  by  other  societies  or  agencies,  whether  sensible  or 
not.  Relief  for  which  these  societies  are  responsible  may 
become  routine,  inadequate,  and  inefficient.  If  the  best 
societies  have  kept  free  to  a  considerable  extent  from 
these  dangers,  and  have  constantly  renewed  the  high 
standards  and  the  intelligent  methods  which  at  the  be- 
ginning, as  we  have  seen,  have  characterized  other  move- 
ments for  the  better  organization  of  charity  as  well  as 
their  own,  this  happy  result  is  due,  in  a  very  large  meas- 
ure, to  the  single  fact  that  they  have  not,  as  a  rule, 
directly  disbursed  relief  from  a  fund  previously  accu- 
mulated, but  have,  instead,  obtained  their  relief,  case  by 
case,  as  it  is  needed  for  individual  families.  Emergent, 
or  interim,  relief  must  of  course  be  available  at  a  moment's 
notice,  but  much  the  greater  part  of  the  relief  required  may 
be  obtained  and  held  in  trust  for  the  family  or  the  indi- 
vidual who  needs  it.  As  an  investigating  and  relief 
obtaining  agency,  it  is  constantly  necessary  for  the  charity 
organization  society  to  justify  its  decisions  to  others  to 
secure  their  assent  and  to  win  their  approval.  As  an 
agency  for  promoting  cooperation,  it  is  necessary  for  the 
society  to  appeal  strongly  and  convincingly  to  all  branches 
of  the  charitable  public.  It  has  little  temptation  to  be- 
come sentimental,  and  its  work  can  be  kept  upon  a  basis 
of  broad  common  sense,  honest  dealing  with  facts  at  first 
hand,  maintaining  a  due  proportion  between  various  kinds 
of  charitable  needs,  and  shunning  those  forms  of  charitable 
activity  which  win  easy  but  fleeting  popularity.  Even 
those  who  are  not  attracted  by  the  ideal  of  the  charity 
organization  societies,  because  they  do  not  fully  under- 


352  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

stand  it,  nevertheless  pay  a  tribute  to  their  insistence 
upon  high  standards,  to  their  thoroughness  of  method, 
and  to  their  uncompromising  refusal  to  applaud  enter- 
prises which  are  called  charitable,  and  in  which  their  pro- 
moters have  great  faith,  unless  they  are  really  of  advantage 
to  the  poor. 

Of  course  such  a  position  as  this  in  the  community  is 
not,  in  the  long  run,  an  unenviable  or  even  an  unpopular 
one.  In  some  of  the  older  cities  it  is  noticeable  that  many 
who  were  once  hostile  to  the  charity  organization  societies 
have  become  cordial,  that  attacks  upon  them  have  become 
less  frequent,  while  in  many  of  the  cities  in  which  socie- 
ties have  recently  been  formed  they  have  escaped  the 
misunderstandings  and  controversies  which  had  seemed 
inevitable. 

The  controversies  have,  however,  not  always  arisen 
from  a  misapprehension  of  the  objects  and  methods  of  the 
societies.  Pursuant  to  their  aim  of  bringing  about  a  bet- 
ter organization  of  the  charitable  work  of  the  community, 
they  have  often  encountered  antiquated,  mismanaged,  and, 
in  some  instances,  wholly  dishonest,  so-called  charities, 
and  it  has  been  a  part  of  their  duty  to  expose  these  false 
claimants  upon  the  generosity  of  the  public.  Unfortu- 
nately, very  respectable  citizens,  who  have  carelessly 
allowed  their  names  to  be  used  in  connection  with  en- 
terprises about  which  they  knew  little  or  nothing,  have 
sometimes  been  affected  by  these  exposures,  and  while 
there  are  instances  in  which  they  have  immediately  joined 
in  the  attempt  to  correct  abuses  and  punish  serious  of- 
fenders, there  are  other  instances  in  which  they  have  been 
led  by  personal  resentment  to  attack  the  agency  which  is 
responsible  for  allowing  the  facts  to  be  known,  rather  than 
the  evils  in  question. 

Besides  the  enemies  which  have  arisen  in  this  manner, 
there  are  many  excellent  people  who  are  unable  to  agree 
with  the  decision  reached  by  the  societies  in  regard  to  the 
treatment  of  particular  cases  of  destitution  in  which  they 
are  personally  interested.  They  are  disappointed  that 
some  other  course  has  not  been  followed,  and  they  refuse 
to  credit  the  sincerity  of  the  society  in  its  different  view, 
or  they  even  neglect  to  ascertain  what  the  divergent  view 


CHAP,  in  THE   VALUE   OF   REGISTRATION  353 

really  is.  In  any  given  case,  the  representatives  of  the 
society  may  form  a  mistaken  judgment,  and  the  one  who 
feels  that  he  has  a  grievance  against  the  society  may  be 
entirely  in  the  right  as  to  the  course  which  should  have 
been  taken.  It  is,  however,  probable  that  the  number  of 
persons  who  from  disappointment  or  resentment  at  the 
action  taken,  or  at  a  failure  to  act,  may  finally  become  con- 
siderably greater  than  the  number  of  mistakes  made  by 
the  society  would  warrant,  arid  a  few  discontented  citi- 
zens may  easily  establish  a  general  public  opinion  unfav- 
orable to  the  methods  and  practice  of  the  society.  All 
this  is  to  be  obviated  only  by  tact  in  explaining  the  rea- 
sons for  the  particular  decision  made  and  a  perfect  readi- 
ness to  discuss  the  questions  involved  with  any  who  have 
a  legitimate  interest  in  them.  Coupled  with  this,  how- 
ever, there  should  be,  and  to  an  increasing  extent  there  is 
in  fact,  a  persistent  and  reiterated  emphasis  upon  the  con- 
structive and  positive  sides  of  the  work  of  the  charity 
organization  societies,  and  repeated  demonstration  of  the 
actual  value  of  the  results  obtained  in  individual  instances. 

A  special  service  rendered  by  the  charity  organization 
societies  is  the  provision  of  a  central  registration  of  the 
relief  work  of  such  societies,  churches,  and  individuals  as 
voluntarily  make  use  of  the  bureau  established  for  this 
purpose.  No  community  has  succeeded  in  obtaining  a 
complete  registration  of  what  is  done  for  the  destitute, 
but  in  many  instances  all  the  important  organized  chari- 
ties regularly  report  to  the  bureau,  and  receive  in  return 
information  as  to  what  is  done  by  the  other  agencies  for 
families  in  whom  they  are  interested. 

Even  if  there  are  not  formal  reports  from  the  relief  soci- 
eties, the  registration  bureau  of  an  active  charity  organi- 
zation society  gradually  accumulates  the  information  that 
is  of  value  concerning  nearly  all  of  the  families  asking 
for  relief,  and  almost  certainly  concerning  those  who  are 
known  to  two  or  more  relief  agencies.  This  information 
is  obtained  in  the  course  of  the  investigations  made  by 
the  society  when  application  is  made  at  its  own  office  or 
to  individuals,  churches,  and  societies  who  request  an  in- 
vestigation by  the  society.  The  ideal  plan,  however, 
is  undoubtedly  for  the  registration  bureau  to  receive  this 

2A 


354  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  m 

information  directly  from  the  relief  agencies,  with  the 
understanding  that  it  is  confidential  and  is  to  be  imparted 
only  to  those  having  a  legitimate  interest. 

Attention  may  be  called  finally  to  a  very  important  dis- 
tinction between  the  charity  organization  societies  and 
other  organized  relief  agencies,  and  in  this  connection 
the  experience  of  the  Boston  Provident  Association,  the 
New  York  Association  for  Improving  the  Condition  of 
the  Poor,  and  the  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society  in  the 
matter  of  volunteer  visitors  may  be  recalled.  In  each 
case  volunteer  visitors  were  formerly  employed,  and  in 
each  case,  as  a  means  of  promoting  efficiency  in  the 
disbursement  of  relief,  such  volunteer  service  was  dis- 
continued. The  charity  organization  societies,  however, 
have  increased  rather  than  diminished  the  proportion  of 
their  work  that  is  done  by  unpaid  volunteer  workers.  It 
is  difficult  to  conceive  a  successful  charity  organization 
society  working  on  any  other  plan.  This  is  not  only 
because  of  the  difference  in  the  character  of  the  work 
done  by  the  volunteer  visitors  of  the  older  and  the  newer 
societies,  but  mainly  because  the  object  of  the  latter  is 
nothing  else  than  the  organization  of  charity  ;  in  other 
words,  the  education  and  training  of  the  charitably  dis- 
posed individual,  the  men  and  women  who  are  willing  to 
give  either  time  or  money,  or  both,  for  the  relief  of  dis- 
tress. The  charity  organization  society  undertakes  a  more 
difficult  task  than  the  direct  relief  of  distress.  This  is  to 
insure  that  the  limited  amount  of  charitable  work  which 
any  one  society  may  perform  shall  be  done  in  such  a  way 
as  to  train  the  volunteer  who  cooperates  in  doing  it.  It 
is  not  too  much  to  say  that  the  chief  aim  of  the  charity 
organization  society  is  to  improve  the  charitable  methods 
(  of  the  general  public.  Its  aim  is  to  help  the  poor,  but  to 
do  this  by  persuasive  teaching,  and,  so  far  as  public  opin- 
ion can  accomplish  the  result,  by  compelling  the  pastor, 
the  church  worker,  the  business  and  professional  man,  the 
volunteer  of  every  description,  to  help  the  poor  in  wiser 
and  more  effective  ways.  This  is  fundamentally  for  the 
sake  of  the  poor,  and  not  for  the  sake  of  adding  to  the 
comfort  or  well-being  of  the  well-to-do,  though  the  latter 
are  affected  incidentally,  in  that  their  charitable  donations 


CHAP,  in  A  TEST  OF   SUCCESS  355        /<3 

are  made  to  accomplish  more  real  good,  and  they  are 
afforded  the  satisfaction  which  always  accompanies  work 
intelligently  performed.  The  distinction  made  by  Mr. 
Frothingham  is  therefore  entirely  sound.1  A  provident  L 
association  whose  sole  aim  is  to  help  the  poor  directly 
should  rely  upon  professional  agents.  An  associated  chari-  L 
ties  whose  chief  aim  is  educational  must  have  its  corps  of 
friendly  visitors  and  must  win  the  cooperation  of  those 
who  do  not  in  any  formal  way  enroll  themselves  as  work- 
ers of  the  society.  Whether  it  does  this  or  not  is  one 
of  the  tests  of  its  success.  There  are  many  different 
kinds  of  work  which  friendly  visitors  may  do,  in  all  of 
which  the  training  that  is  desired  may  be  secured. 

What  has  been  said  will  indicate  the  natural  division 
of  work  between  an  association  for  improving  the  condi- 
tion of  the  poor  and  a  charity  organization  society  if  both 
exist  in  the  same  city.  To  the  former  will  naturally  be- 
long the  relief  of  the  necessities  of  the  poor  so  far  as  is 
consistent  with  the  improvement  of  their  condition,  and 
within  its  scope  will  also  lie  numerous  forms  of  beneficent 
activity  determined  by  the  social  needs  of  the  time  and 
limited  only  by  the  financial  resources  intrusted  to  the 
association  by  the  community,  and  by  the  capacity  for 
management  shown  by  those  who  direct  its  policy.  Such 
an  association  may  properly  investigate  its  own  applica- 
tions for  relief,  or  may  adopt  some  method  of  cooperation 
with  the  charity  organization  society  by  which  the  latter 
will  do  this  work.  The  charity  organization  society,  how- 
ever, should  seek  no  monopoly  of  investigations,2  and  if 
the  decision  as  to  treatment  rests  upon  the  association 
for  improving  the  condition  of  the  poor,  there  are  dis- 
tinct advantages  in  having  its  investigations  made  by  its 
own  agents.  The  task  of  the  charity  organization  society 
will  be  to  maintain  a  registration  bureau  ;  to  investigate 
all  applications  for  assistance  made  at  its  office  or  referred 
to  it  by  others  ;  to  form  a  plan  for  the  adequate  treat- 
ment of  each  case  ;  to  secure  the  necessary  cooperation, 
moral,  educational,  and  financial,  in  carrying  this  plan 

1  See  p.  323. 

2  Richmond,  "What  is  Charity  Organization?"   Charities  Review, 
Vol.  IX,  p.  496. 


356  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  in 

into  operation;  to  organize  relief  in  individual  cases  when 
relief  should  come  from  various  sources  personal  to  the  ap- 
plicant or  otherwise  ;  and  finally,  by  the  employment  of 
the  spare  hours  of  all  who  are  willing  to  do  any  amount 
of  charitable  work,  gradually  to  improve  the  character  of 
all  charitable  work  done  in  the  community.  This  is  more 
difficult,  and  in  many  instances  far  more  discouraging 
work  than  that  of  disbursing  relief.  It  is  for  this  reason 
that  a  wise  worker  has  said  that  charity  organization  is  not 
a  work  to  which  any  man  should  put  his  hand  unless  he  is 
prepared  to  give  to  it  some  measure  of  devotion ;  that  it 
is  hard  work,  requiring  time  and  thought  and  patience  and 
judgment.  It  is  absolutely  necessary  work,  and  the  merit 
of  the  charity  organization  societies  is  that  they  have  not 
merely  talked  about  it,  but  have  provided  a  practicable 
and  definite  plan  by  which  it  can  be,  and  by  which  in  a 
large  number  of  communities  it  has  been,  in  a  very  notable 
degree,  performed. 

It  will  not  be  necessary  to  describe  the  form  of  govern- 
ment and  of  organization  prevailing  in  the  various  soci- 
eties,1 but  there  is  one  feature  characteristic  of  all  except 
the  smaller  societies  which  is  of  special  importance.  This 
is  the  district  committee  through  which  the  constructive 
work  of  the  society  on  behalf  of  the  families  is  done.  In 
the  smaller  societies,  where  it  is  not  necessary  to  divide 
the  territory  to  be  covered  into  districts,  there  is,  neverthe- 
less, usually  a  committee  whose  functions  are  identical  with 
the  district  committee  of  the  larger  societies.  The  func- 
tions of  such  a  committee  cannot  be  better  described  than 
in  the  following  paragraphs  from  the  pen  of  Mrs.  Charles 
Russell  Lowell,  upon  whose  initiative  the  New  York  society 
was  founded,  and  who  has  contributed  more  to  the  theory 
and  to  the  practice  of  organized  charity  than  any  one  else 
in  America  :  — 

"  The  reason  for  the  formation  of  4  district  committees ' 
is  to  arouse  a  local  interest  in  the  work  and  to  break  up 
the  great  city  into  what  Dr.  Chalmers  calls  '  manageable 
portions  of  the  civic  territory,'  because  these  smaller  divi- 
sions appeal  more  strongly  to  the  imagination  of  the  worker 

1  See,  however,  Appendix  I,  Constitution  of  a  charity  organization 
society. 


CHAP,  in  THE   DISTRICT   COMMITTEE  357 

than  the  whole  can  possibly  do.  To  quote  Dr.  Chalmers 
again,  4  There  is  a  very  great  difference  in  respect  to  its 
practical  influence  between  a  task  that  is  indefinite  and  a 
task  that  is  clearly  seen  to  be  overtakeable.  The  one  has 
the  effect  to  paralyze,  the  other  to  quicken  exertion.' 

"  The  first  condition  of  an  ideal  district  committee  is, 
then,  that  it  should  have  a  domain  not  too  large  in  which 
to  work.  Further,  that  it  should  be  composed  of  resi- 
dents in  that  domain1  who  unite  together  to  take  charge 
of  its  public  interests  and  to  help  such  poor  persons  as  are 
found,  after  inquiry,  to  need  help.  Its  special  functions 
are  to  destroy  pauperism  within  the  boundaries  of  the 
district,  and  also  to  concern  itself  with  all  measures  that 
will  make  the  lives  of  persons  not  paupers,  but  suffering 
from  poverty,  more  bearable. 

"  In  dealing  Avith  individual  cases  of  pauperism  and  of 
poverty,  the  main  characteristic  of  its  work  is  that  it  en- 
deavors to  find  adequate  relief  for  each  person  —  that  is, 
that  it  seeks  to  cure,  and  not  to  alleviate  merely,  the  dis- 
tress that  appeals  to  it  for  aid,  and  as  almost  all  distress 
of  the  kind  that  does  appeal  to  strangers  for  aid  is  of  a 
kind  that  has  its  cause  in  some  defect  of  character,  the 
building  up  of  character  is  (or  ought  to  be)  one  of  the 
first  objects  of  a  district  committee  in  all  its  relations  with 
individuals.  It  is  because  this  character  building  is  the 
distinctive  feature  of  the  committee's  dealings  with  indi- 
viduals that  what  are  called  '  friendly  visitors '  are  of  such 
tremendous  importance,  for  it  is  only  individuals  who  can 
influence  individuals.  There  cannot  be  the  slightest  taint 
of  mechanicalism  or  officialism  in  this  work,  and  for  every 
miserable,  weak,  hopeless  person  or  family  there  ought 
to  be  a  helping,  strong,  wise  person  to  undertake  their 
education."2 

1  While  residence  in  the  district  is  desirable  it  is  possible,  as  Mrs.  Low- 
ell's own  district  in  New  York  City  abundantly  demonstrates,  to  have  a 
very  effective  committee  composed  partly  and  even  mainly  of  those  who 
become  personally  interested  in  the  territory  but  have  their  homes  else- 
where. 

2  New  York  Charity  Organization  Society,  Seventeenth  Annual  Report. 


PART  IV 

RELIEF  IN  DISASTERS 


CHAPTER  I 

THE   CHICAGO   FIRE 

FORTUNATELY  for  students  of  relief  measures,  the  Chi- 
cago Relief  and  Aid  Society  was  constituted  the  almoner 
of  the  fund  of  some  $5,000,000  contributed  to  alleviate 
the  sufferings  of  those  who  were  rendered  homeless  and 
destitute  by  the  disastrous  fire  of  October  8  and  9  of 
1871.  Three  years  later  the  society  issued  a  voluminous 
report  of  the  manner  in  which  this  trust  had  been  dis- 
charged. The  society  did  not,  in  making  this  report, 
overlook  the  possibility  that  the  experiences  of  the  Chi- 
cago fire  and  its  relief  fund  might  be  of  value  in  the  case 
of  similar  calamities  in  the  future. 

In  1871  the  population  of  the  city  was  about  one-third 
of  a  million.  To  some  extent,  at  that  time,  the  small,  in- 
secure wooden  buildings  which  had  sufficed  for  the  city's 
needs  in  the  thirty-four  years  since  it  had  been  incorpo- 
rated had  been  removed,  and  more  pretentious  permanent 
buildings  were  rapidly  being  constructed.  The  wooden  and 
inflammable  buildings,  however,  existed  side  by  side  with 
the  new  ones,  giving  to  the  city  "  a  unique  and,  in  some  in- 
stances, a  most  grotesque  appearance  "  ;  nor  were  the  newer 
buildings  by  any  means  fire  proof,  even  in  the  loose  and 
inaccurate  sense  in  which  that  term  is  commonly  applied. 
From  the  wooden  tenements  where  the  fire  started  it  swept 
into  the  central  quarter  of  the  city,  and  thence  into  the 
heart  of  the  section  which  contained  the  more  substan- 
tial residences.  The  streets  were  soon  filled  "with  an 
indescribable  mass  of  fugitives,"  and  the  night  of  Octo- 
ber 8  is  remembered  by  those  who  witnessed  it  "  as  a  pic- 
ture of  appalling  horror,  distinct  in  its  outlines,  weird  in 
its  dark  shadings,  but  utterly  incapable  of  verbal  repre- 

361 


362  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iV 

sentation."  One  hundred  and  ninety-four  acres  were 
burned  over  in  the  west  division  of  the  city,  where  the 
fire  originated,  and  500  buildings  were  destroyed,  inhabited 
by  about  2500  persons,  chiefly  of  limited  means.  In  the 
south  division  the  burned  area  comprised  460  acres,  in- 
cluding the  business  centre  of  the  city.  "  All  the  whole- 
sale stores  of  considerable  magnitude,  the  daily  and  weekly 
newspaper  offices,  the  principal  hotels,  the  public  halls  and 
places  of  amusement,  the  great  railroad  depots,  and  a  large 
number  of  the  most  splendid  residences,  and,  in  short,  the 
great  bulk  of  the  wealth  and  the  chief  interests  of  the  city 
were  located  in  this  district.  In  this  division  alone  there 
were  3650  buildings  destroyed,  which  included  1600  stores, 
28  hotels,  60  manufacturing  establishments,  principally  of 
clothing,  boots  and  shoes,  and  jewellery,  and  the  homes  of 
about  22,000  people."1 

"  In  the  north  division  1870  acres  were  burned  over, 
destroying  13,300  buildings,  the  homes  of  75,000  people, 
about  600  stores,  and  100  manufacturing  establishments. 
This  area  contained  about  73  miles  of  streets,  18,000 
buildings,  and  the  homes  of  100,000  people."2 

The  total  area  destroyed  by  the  fire  contained  the  homes 
of  100,000  people,  the  value  of  the  property  destroyed 
being  estimated  at  §192,000,000,  after  allowing  a  salvage 
of  §4,000,000  in  foundations  and  available  material  for  re- 
building. This  was  about  one-third  of  the  total  value  of 
property  in  the  city,  real  and  personal,  taxed  and  untaxed. 
About  300  persons  perished  in  the  flames. 

Residents  of  the  south  side  who  were  made  homeless  by 
the  fire  were,  for  the  most  part,  received  by  their  neigh- 
bors ;  those  on  the  north  side  spent  the  first  night  on  the 
sands  of  the  lake  shore,  in  the  small  parks,  and  on  the 
adjoining  prairie,  comparatively  few  finding  shelter.  On 
the  west  side  those  who  were  left  homeless  were,  to  a  large 
extent,  sheltered  in  the  churches  and  schoolhouses,  al- 
though some  of  these  also  spent  the  night  on  the  prairies 
northwest  of  the  city.  Many  were  without  food  for  two 
days.  The  "greatest  terror  of  all,"  however,  was  the 
separation  of  families.  It  was  not  until  October  12,  four 

1  Report  of  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  1874,  p.  9. 
3  Ibid.,  p.  10. 


CHAP,  i  LOSSES  AND  DISTRESS  303 

days  after  the  beginning  of  the  fire,  and  the  third  day  after 
the  fire  itself  was  over,  that  the  temporary  relief  commit- 
tee was  able  to  say  that  "  from  reports  from  all  parts  of 
the  city,  it  is  believed  that  every  person  rendered  home- 
less by  the  fire  was  placed  under  shelter  and  supplied  with 
food  last  night." 

The  mayor  appealed  to  neighboring  cities  for  fire  en- 
gines and  for  bread  to  feed  the  homeless  and  destitute. 
At  3  P.M.  on  October  9  the  following  proclamation  was 
issued  i1  — 

"WHEREAS,  In  the  providence  of  God,  to  whose  will  we  humbly 
submit,  a  terrible  calamity  has  befallen  our  city,  which  demands  of  us 
our  best  efforts  for  the  preservation  of  order  and  the  relief  of  suffer- 
ing:— 

"Be  it  known,  that  the  faith  and  credit  of  the  city  of  Chicago 
are  hereby  pledged  for  the  necessary  expenses  for  the  relief  of  the 
suffering. 

"Public  order  will  be  preserved.  The  police  and  special  police  now 
being  appointed  will  be  responsible  for  the  maintenance  of  the  peace 
and  the  protection  of  property. 

"All  officers  and  men  of  the  Fire  Department  and  Health  Depart- 
ment will  act  as  special  policemen  without  further  notice. 

"The  Mayor  and  Comptroller  will  give  vouchers  for  all  supplies 
furnished  by  the  different  relief  committees. 

"The  headquarters  of  the  City  Government  will  be  at  the  Congre- 
gational Church,  corner  of  West  Washington  and  Ann  Streets. 

"All  persons  are  warned  against  any  act  tending  to  endanger  prop- 
erty. Persons  caught  in  any  depredation  will  be  immediately  arrested. 

"With  the  help  of  God,  order  and  peace  and  private  property  will 
be  preserved. 

"The  City  Government  and  the  committee  of  citizens  pledge  them- 
selves to  the  community  to  protect  them,  and  prepare  the  way  for  a 
restoration  of  public  and  private  welfare. 

"  It  is  believed  that  the  fire  has  spent  its  force,  and  all  will  soon  be 
well. 

"R.  B.  MASON,  Mayor. 
"GEORGE  TAYLOR,  Comptroller. 


"  (By  R.  B.  Mason.) 
C.  P. 


"CHARLES  C.  P.  HOLDEN,  President  Common  Council. 
«T.  B.  BROWN,  President  Board  of  Police. 
"October  9, 1871,  3  P.M." 

On  the  following  day  the  price  of  bread  was  fixed  by 
ordinance  at  eight  cents  per  loaf  of  twelve  ounces,  and  at 

1  Report  of  the  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  pp.  15,  16. 


364  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  iv 

the  same  rate  for  all  loaves  of  less  or  greater  weight.  A 
penalty  of  $10  was  fixed  for  any  attempt  to  sell  bread 
within  the  limits  of  the  city  at  any  other  rate,  and  it  was 
announced  that  any  hackman,  expressman,  drayman,  or 
teamster  charging  more  than  the  regular  fare  would  have 
his  license  forfeited.  Saloons  were  ordered  to  be  closed 
every  day  for  one  week  at  9  P.M.  under  a  penalty  of  for- 
feiture of  license.  Five  hundred  citizens  for  each  of  the 
police  districts  were  sworn  in  as  special  policemen  and  the 
military  were  invested  with  full  police  power.  A  special 
relief  committee  was  appointed  on  October  11,  and  it 
was  directed  that  contributions  of  money  should  be  deliv- 
ered to  the  city  treasurer,  who  would  receipt  and  hold 
such  contributions  as  a  special  relief  fund.  Railroad 
passes  from  the  city  were  to  be  issued  under  direction  of 
this  committee. 

Two  days  earlier,  before  the  fire  had  yet  been  brought 
under  control,  the  Lieutenant- General  of  the  Army  tele- 
graphed to  the  Secretary  of  War  that  he  had  ordered 
rations  from  St.  Louis,  tents  from  Jeffersonville,  and  two 
companies  of  infantry  from  Omaha  to  be  sent  to  Chicago. 
To  a  later  telegram  from  General  Sheridan  the  Secretary 
of  War  replied  on  October  10  :  — 

"  WASHINGTON,  October  10. 
"LIEUTENANT-GENERAL  SHERIDAN,  Chicago:  — 

"I  agree  with  you  that  the  fire  is  a  national  calamity;  the  suf- 
ferers have  the  sincere  sympathy  of  the  nation .  Officers  at  the  depots 
of  St.  Louis,  Jeffersonville,  and  elsewhere,  have  been  ordered  to  for- 
ward supplies  liberally  and  promptly. 

«  WM.  W.  BELKNAP, 

" Secretary  of  War" 

On  October  11  the  mayor,  by  official  proclamation, 
intrusted  the  preservation  of  good  order  and  peace  to 
General  Sheridan,  and  instructed  the  police  to  act  in  con- 
junction with  him,  the  intent  being  to  preserve  the  peace 
of  the  city  without  interfering  with  the  functions  of  the 
city  government.  On  the  same  day  the  powers  granted 
to  the  special  police  for  a  period  of  three  days  were 
revoked.  On  the  following  day,  October  12,  General 
Sheridan  was  able  to  report  to  the  mayor  that  no  case  of 


CHAP,  i  THE   MAINTENANCE   OF   ORDER  365 

disorder  or  outbreak  had  been  reported,  that  no  authenti- 
cated report  of  any  attempt  at  incendiarism  had  reached 
him,  and  five  days  later  a  similar  official  report  was  made, 
declaring  that  newspaper  accounts  of  violence  and  disorder 
were  without  the  slightest  foundation.  Military  aid  was 
discontinued  and  the  Lieutenant-General,  relieved  of  the 
special  responsibility  imposed  upon  him  on  October  23,' 
and  the  various  companies  of  infantry  which  had  succes- 
sively been  brought  to  the  city  for  special  duty,  were  trans- 
ferred to  their  respective  stations  on  October  24,  or  less 
than  two  weeks  after  the  fire  occurred. 

On  October  10  the  governor  of  Illinois  convened  the 
legislature  in  special  session,  declaring  that  the  calamity 
that  had  overtaken  Chicago,  depriving  many  thousands  of 
the  residents  of  the  city  of  their  homes  and  rendering 
them  destitute,  destroying  many  millions  of  dollars  in 
value  of  property,  disturbing  the  business  of  the  people, 
deranging  the  finances  of  the  city,  and  interrupting  the 
operation  of  the  laws,  constituted  an  extraordinary  occa- 
sion within  the  meaning  of  the  constitution  authorizing 
such  action  on  the  part  of  the  governor.  The  legislature 
in  this  proclamation  was  asked  :  — 

I.  To  appropriate  such  sum  or  sums  of  money,  or  adopt 
such  other  legislative  measures  as  may  be  thought  judi- 
cious, necessary,  or  proper,  for  the  relief  of  the  people  of 
the  city  of  Chicago. 

II.  To  make  provision,  by  amending  the  revenue  laws 
or  otherwise,  for  the  proper  and  just  assessment  and  col- 
lection of  taxes  within  the  city  of  Chicago. 

III.  To  enact  such  other  laws  and  to  adopt  such  other 
measures  as  may  be  necessary  for  the  relief  of  the  city  of 
Chicago  and  the  people  of  said  city,  and  for  the  execution 
and  enforcement  of  the  laws  of  the  state. 

The  governors  of  Wisconsin,  in  which  state  forest  fires 
were  at  the  time  spreading  desolation,  Michigan,  Iowa, 
Missouri,  Ohio,  and  New  York  issued  proclamations  call- 
ing for  liberal  private  relief.  Jay  Gould,  on  behalf  of 
the  Erie  Railroad,  and  William  K.  Vanderbilt,  on  behalf 
of  the  New  York  Central  Railroad,  offered  to  carry  for- 
ward supplies,  and  similar  offers  were  soon  received  from 
all  directions. 


366  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PABT  iv 

The  capital  city  of  Illinois  on  October  9  appropriated 
$10,000  to  relieve  the  distress  in  Chicago.  Committees 
from  Boston,  New  York,  St.  Louis,  Philadelphia,  and 
other  cities  were  upon  the  ground  immediately  after  the 
fire,  rendering  assistance  to  the  local  relief  committee,  in- 
forming their  respective  cities  of  the  extraordinary  distress 
'and  of  the  particular  needs  to  be  supplied. 

As  might  have  been  anticipated,  the  residents  of  the 
city  lost  no  time  in  initiating  emergency  relief  measures. 
On  the  afternoon  of  the  second  day  of  the  fire  a  number 
of  city  officers  and  prominent  citizens  met  in  a  Congrega- 
tional church  for  consultation  regarding  the  public  wel- 
fare in  the  emergency.  A  call  was  then  issued  for  a 
meeting  at  the  same  place  in  the  evening. 

This  meeting  was  attended  by  the  mayor,  commis- 
sioners of  the  police  and  fire  departments,  and  other 
city  officials,  by  thirteen  members  of  the  board  of  alder- 
men and  a  large  number  of  prominent  citizens.  The 
mayor  in  calling  the  meeting  to  order  stated  that  its 
object  was  to  inaugurate  some  plan  for  concert  of  action 
by  the  authorities  and  the  citizens,  to  furnish  immediate 
succor  to  the  large  number  of  people  who  had  been  ren- 
dered homeless  and  destitute,  and  who  "to  save  their 
lives  had  been  driven  far  out  into  the  open  country 
north  and  west  of  the  city  limits,  where  they  were  com- 
pelled to  remain  without  shelter,  food,  and  in  many 
cases  without  clothing,  until  assistance  was  taken  to 
them";  also  "to  take  charge  of  and  distribute  the  re- 
lief which  he  was  advised  was  being  collected  in  other 
cities."1 

A  committee,  consisting  of  the  mayor  and  two  alder- 
men for  each  of  the  three  divisions  of  the  city,  was 
appointed  to  act  as  a  general  relief  committee.  This 
committee  met  at  the  same  place  on  the  following  morn- 
ing, selected  the  church  in  which  the  meetings  had  been 
held  as  headquarters  of  the  committee,  and  remained 
there  in  continuous  session  for  several  days.  The  follow- 
ing sub-committees  were  appointed  :  — 

1.  In  charge  of  receiving  supplies  at  the  railroad  stations 
and  sending  them  to  depots  for  storage  and  distribution. 
1  Record  of  proceedings  of  the  General  Relief  Committee. 


CHAP,  i  THE   GENERAL   RELIEF   COMMITTEE  367 

2.  In  charge  of  transportation  and  the  distribution  of 
supplies  from  depot  to  church  and  school  building  com- 
mittees in  various  portions  of  the  city. 

3.  In  charge  of  distribution  of  relief. 

4.  In  charge  of  supplying  water  to  church  and  school 
building  committees. 

5.  In   charge   of   railroad   passes  to  destitute   persons 
wishing  to  leave  the  city. 

6.  In  charge  of  hospitals  and  medical  supplies. 

7.  In  charge  of  providing  barracks  for  shelter. 

The  third  of  these  sub-committees,  on  distribution  of 
relief,  consisted  of  a  gentleman  who  represented  the  Chi- 
cago Relief  and  Aid  Society  ;  the  sixth  consisted  of  two 
physicians.  Suitable  notices  were  printed  for  the  infor- 
mation of  the  public,  one  of  which,  addressed  to  the  home- 
less, announced  that  all  the  public  school  buildings  as  well 
as  churches  were  to  be  opened  for  the  shelter  of  persons 
who  could  not  find  other  accommodations;  when  food 
was  not  to  be  found  at  such  buildings  it  would  be  pro- 
vided by  the  committee  on  application  to  headquarters. 
The  president  of  the  board  of  trade  was  authorized  to 
receive  and  distribute  supplies  under  the  control  and  upon 
the  order  of  the  committee ;  and  was  also  authorized  to 
hire  or  press  into  service,  if  necessary,  a  sufficient  number 
of  teams  to  handle  such  supplies.  By  October  12  it  was 
officially  estimated  that  about  seventy  thousand  persons  had 
been  relieved  by  the  aid  of  this  committee.  On  that  date 
a  proposition  was  submitted  from  the  Chicago  Relief  and 
Aid  Society  that  the  said  society  should  take  full  charge 
of  the  receipt  and  distribution  of  all  supplies  throughout 
the  entire  city.  After  full  discussion,  a  resolution  carry- 
ing this  plan  into  effect  was  adopted.  The  resolution  was 
as  follows  :  — 


"Resolved,  as  the  sense  of  this  meeting,  that  the  organization  of  the 
Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society  be  adopted  as  the  means  of  distribut- 
ing the  food  and  supplies  received  for  the  suffering,  and  that  the  pres- 
ent Relief  Committee  appointed  Monday  night  last,  together  with  the 
Mayor,  Comptroller,  City  Treasurer  and  two  other  aldermen  from 
each  division  of  the  city,  to  be  selected  by  the  Mayor  and  the  Presi- 
dent of  the  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  be  added  to  the  direction 
of  said  society." 


PRINCIPLES   OF   BELIEF 


At  the  same  meeting  the  following  circular  letter  was 
sent  to  each  local  committee  in  charge  of  relief  distribu- 
tion :  — 

"  Committees  at  school  buildings  and  churches,  in  charge  of  dis- 
tributing food,  clothing,  and  bedding  to  persons  rendered  homeless 
and  destitute  by  the  great  fire,  are  directed  to  limit  the  issue  of  sup- 
plies to  the  absolute  daily  necessities  (not  always  the  wants)  of  per- 
sons applying  for,  and  entitled  to,  aid,  pending  the  completion  of  a 
larger  organization  and  a  more  thorough  system  for  the  distribution 
of  relief.  The  Committee  respectfully  urge  upon  such  Committees  the 
great  importance  of  strictly  observing  this  rule,  so  that  the  generous 
contributions  we  are  now  receiving  may  not  be  diverted  from  the 
purpose  for  which  they  are  needed,  and*  which  was  intended  by  the 
donors." 

The  relief  committee  discontinued  all  official  action  on 
the  evening  of  Saturday,  October  14,  referring  all  mat- 
ters relating  to  its  work  after  that  date  to  the  Executive 
Committee  of  the  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society.  The 
mayor  had  issued  the  following  proclamation  the  day  be- 
fore, Friday,  October  13  :  — 

"I  have  deemed  it  best  for  the  interest  of  the  city  to  turn  over  to 
the  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society  all  contributions  for  the  suffering 
people  of  this  city.  This  Society  is  an  incorporated  and  old  estab- 
lished organization,  having  possessed  for  many  years  the  entire  confi- 
dence of  our  community,  and  is  familiar  with  the  work  to  be  done. 
The  regular  force  of  this  Society  is  inadequate  to  this  immense  work, 
but  they  will  rapidly  enlarge  and  extend  the  same  by  adding  promi- 
nent citizens  to  the  respective  committees,  and  I  call  upon  all  citizens 
to  aid  this  organization  in  every  possible  way. 

"I  also  confer  upon  them  a  continuance  of  the  same  power  here- 
tofore exercised  by  the  Citizens'  Committee,  namely,  the  power  to 
impress  teams  and  labor,  and  to  procure  quarters,  so  far  as  may  be 
necessary,  for  the  transportation  and  distribution  of  contributions, 
and  care  of  the  sick  and  disabled.  General  Sheridan  desires  this 
arrangement,  and  has  promised  to  cooperate  with  the  Association. 
It  will  be  seen  that  every  precaution  has  been  taken  in  regard  to  the 
disposition  of  contributions." 

This  society  had  been  incorporated  in  1857,  its  objects 
being  stated  in  the  act  of  incorporation  as  follows :  - 

"  The  objects  of  this  corporation  shall  be  strictly  of  an  eleemosy- 
nary nature:  they  shall  be  to  provide  a  permanent,  efficient,  and  prac- 
tical mode  of  administering  and  distributing  the  private  charities  of 
the  city  of  Chicago ;  to  examine  and  establish  the  necessary  means  for 


CHAP.  I      THE   CHICAGO   RELIEF  AND   AID   SOCIETY  369 

obtaining  full  and  reliable  information  of  the  condition  and  wants  of 
the  poor  of  said  city,  and  patting  into  practical  and  efficient  operation 
the  best  system  of  relieving  and  preventing  want  and  pauperism 
therein."  * 

The  acceptance  of  the  trust  by  the  society  was  made 
known  to  the  public  through  an  associated  press  despatch 
containing  directions  regarding  contributions,  an  appeal 
for  the  continuance  of  such  contributions,  a  preference  ex- 
pressed for  money  rather  than  contributions  in  kind,  and 
a  definite  announcement  that  no  more  cooked  or  perishable 
food  was  needed  at  that  time.2  In  order  that  there  might 
be  no  confusion,  the  mayor  added  to  the  previous  an- 
nouncements a  signed  statement  in  the  public  press  of 
October  19  that  the  mayor  and  the  citizens'  relief  com- 
mittee had  turned  over  all  contributions  to  the  Chicago 
Relief  and  Aid  Societ}^  and  that  aside  from  that  society 
there  was  no  other  authorized  to  receive  contributions  for 
general  distribution.  "There  are  many  special  societies," 
added  the  mayor,  "  as  well  as  individuals,  to  whom  special 
donations  have  been  directed.  These  are  doing  an  excel- 
lent work  and  cannot  be  dispensed  with.  Our  object  is  to 
direct  attention  to  the  fact  that  there  is  no  conflict  in  the 
work,  and  that  contributions  for  the  general  fund  should 
come  to  this  association."  3 

The  society  found  it  necessary  at  the  same  time  to  pub- 
lish a  statement,  requesting  all  newspapers  at  home  and 
abroad  to  give  circulation  to  it,  as  follows  :  — 

"  The  response  to  the  sufferings  of  our  stricken  citizens  was  so  spon- 
taneous and  universal,  that  money,  clothing,  and  provisions  were  sent 
not  only  to  the  authorities  of  our  city,  but  to  many  individuals,  some 
of  which,  owing  to  the  derangement  of  all  business,  may  have  mis- 
carried. 

"  To  the  end  that  these  unparalleled  contributions  maybe  preserved, 
judiciously  applied,  and  sacredly  accounted  for,  we  ask  all  persons  and 
committees  everywhere  to  send  to  this  society  duplicate  statements,  so 
far  as  possible,  of  all  articles  and  especially  of  sums  of  money  sent  for 
our  aid,  together  with  the  name  of  the  person  or  society  to  whom  sent. 

"A  complete  record  of  the  sources  of  these  contributions,  together 
with  the  history  of  their  expenditure,  will  be  preserved  for  future 
publication." 

1  Act  of  Incorporation  of  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society. 

2  Report  of  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  1874,  p.  135. 

3  Ibid.,  p.  136. 

2B 


370  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

New  committees  were  now  appointed  to  replace  those 
which  had  previously  been  authorized  by  the  citizens' 
committee.  Of  the  present  list,  one  was  on  employment, 
to  provide  labor  for  able-bodied  applicants;  another  on 
reception  and  correspondence,  to  receive  and  answer  de- 
spatches and  letters.  The  chairman  of  each  of  the  new 
committees  was  authorized  to  add  as  many  citizens  to  his 
committee  as  he  chose,  making  the  committee  as  large  as 
the  magnitude  of  the  work  might  require,  he  himself  being 
responsible  for  its  doings.  All  persons  engaged  in  relief 
work  were  requested  "  to  stop  hasty  distributions,  and  to 
give  applications  as  much  examination  as  possible,  to  the 
end  that  we  may  not  waste  the  generous  aid  pouring  in, 
as  the  work  of  relief  is  not  for  a  week,  or  a  month,  but  for 
the  whole  of  the  coming  winter,  and  to  a  great  extent  for 
even  a  longer  period." 1 

This  plan  remained  in  force  subsequently  with  the  ex- 
ception that  at  the  following  annual  meeting  of  the  society 
an  executive  committee  was  chosen  by  the  board  of  direc- 
tors from  their  own  number,  and  invested  with  power  to 
transact  all  business  subject  to  the  supervision  of  the 
board.2  The  members  of  the  executive  committee  with 
one  or  two  exceptions  gave  their  entire  time  to  the  work 
during  the  winter  of  1871-1872,  and  without  any  financial 
compensation  for  such  service.  During  the  early  weeks  of 
the  winter  the  committee  gave  the  entire  day  to  the  work  of 
the  various  departments,  holding  nightly  meetings  at  which 
reports  from  all  departments  were  received,  plans  for  the 
following  day  considered,  necessary  changes  in  the  methods 
made,  so  that  a  picture  of  the  situation  was  thus  constantly 
in  the  minds  of  its  members.3 

On  February  1,  1872,  the  following  announcement  was 
made  through  the  Associated  Press  :  — 

"  The  continued  donations  since  our  last  report,  together  with  the 
twenty  days  of  mild  weather  in  January,  enable  us  to  say  that  the  re- 
sources of  the  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society  will  meet  the  wants  of 
the  present  winter.  By  resources  we  mean  not  only  what  we  have 
actually  received,  but  various  sums  of  which  we  have  been  advised, 
such  as  the  New  York  Chamber  of  Commerce  Fund,  and  the  subscrip- 

1  Report  of  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  1874,  p.  138. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  138.  »  Ibid.,  p.  139. 


CHAP,  i  ORGANIZATION  371 

tions  of  several  cities  delayed  by  negotiation  of  bonds  and  other  causes, 
which  sums,  we  presume,  will  be  subject  to  our  order  when  needed. 
We  regard  it  as  a  duty  to  make  this  announcement  the  earliest  day 
that  it  could  be  made  with  reasonable  -assurance  of  its  correctness. 
We  can  also  say  that  there  will  be  enough  to  make  temporary  provision 
for  our  charitable  institutions  whose  resources  were  cut  off  by  the  fire. 
A  careful  examination  of  their  affairs  is  now  being  made  by  a  com- 
mittee appointed  for  that  purpose.  In  our  next  report,  to  be  published 
in  February,  mention  will  be  made  of  all  contributions,  both  of  money 
and  articles,  so  far  as  information  can  be  had  of  the  same.  Every- 
thing received  by  this  Society  will  be  acknowledged,  and  we  ask  all 
other  societies  of  Chicago  to  send  us  an  account  of  their  receipts. 
But,  as  much  was  given  out  by  various  agencies  in  the  first  days  after 
the  fire  without  record,  we  also  request  all  societies  and  committees 
elsewhere  to  send  us  an  account  of  their  donations  not  mentioned  in 
our  next  report,  to  the  end  that  in  a  still  further  and  final  report 
proper  acknowledgement  may  be  made  of  the  entire  contributions  to 
our  people."  x 

After  the  confusion  and  disorder  of  the  first  few  days 
after  the  fire,  during  which  period  food  was  given  to  all 
who  asked  it,2  an  attempt  was  made  to  reduce  the  work  of 
relief  to  a  system  for  the  sake  of  economy  in  the  ways  and 
means,  to  secure  to  the  real  sufferers  the  needed  aid,  to 
detect  and  defeat  imposition,  and  to  aid  in  establishing 
order  by  withholding  encouragement  to  idleness. 

The  first  step  was  to  divide  the  city  into  five  large  dis- 
tricts of  as  nearly  equal  proportion  as  possible.  These 
districts  were  subdivided  at  first  into  thirteen  smaller 
districts,  but  these  boundary  lines  were  rearranged  from 
time  to  time  as  the  work  contracted.  Each  district  was 
given  a  superintendent  who  acted  under  the  direction  of 
the  general  superintendent,  and  the  smaller  sub-districts 
were  in  charge  of  a  subsuperintendent  with  supervision 
over  his  immediate  depot  of  supplies.  At  first  about  ninety 
men  and  women  were  employed  to  assist  each  superin- 
tendent, some  of  whom  aided  in  the  distribution,  while 
others  visited  those  whose  names  were  registered,  and 
sought  out  sufferers  who  needed  aid  but  did  not  know  where 
to  find  it.  As  soon  as  practicable  a  registration  was  made 
of  each  applicant,  after  which  "  none  were  allowed  to  take 
supplies  from  the  depot  without  full  entry  of  name, 
residence,  condition,  and  other  circumstances  which  would 

1  Report  of  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  1874,  pp.  139,  140. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  141. 


372  PRINCIPLES  OF  BELIEF  PART  iv 

identify  the  applicant."1  The  visitor  was  to  keep  himself 
constantly  informed  as  to  all  the  persons  thus  entered  in 
his  district,  and  to  make  periodical  returns  at  the  office. 
"  He  was  to  learn  by  observation  and  inquiry  the  exact 
condition  of  the  registered ;  whether  they  were  well  or  ill; 
whether  they  were  idle  or  industrious ;  whether  they  were 
voluntarily  idle,  in  which  case  they  were  peremptorily  cut 
off  from  aid ;  whether  they  were  entitled  to  entire  or  only 
partial  support ;  whether  they  had  other  means  of  support 
than  public  bounty ;  and,  in  short,  any  circumstances  in 
relation  to  their  condition,  or  habits,  or  character,  which 
would  be  a  guide  as  to  the  care  which  should  be  given 
them  at  the  stations.  There  a  ledger  account  was  opened 
with  each  of  them,  in  which  appeared  the  returns  of  the 
visitors,  the  supplies  given,  with  their  dates,  and  when 
they  were  cut  off,  if  discontinued,  and  the  reasons  why."2 

The  districts  were  frequently  visited  by  a  general 
inspector,  and  a  committee  on  complaints  was  always 
ready  at  headquarters  to  listen  to  complaints  of  neglect  or 
improper  treatment,  and  to  provide  for  their  correction  if 
found  on  inquiry  to  have  been  well  founded.3 

The  report  published  by  the  society  contains  detailed 
statistics  of  the  number  of  families  aided  in  each  district 
from  about  November  11,  on  which  date  12,765  families 
were  receiving  aid.  According  to  the  records,  the  total 
number  of  different  families  that  were  aided  from  October, 
1871,  to  May,  1873,  was  39,242.  Assuming  an  average  of 
four  in  each  family  the  total  number  of  persons  was  thus 
over  150,000.  In  the  month  of  January,  1872,  accounts 
were  opened  with  6385  new  families,  in  February  with 
2417,  in  March  with  1522,  and  through  the  remainder  of 
the  year  with  from  100  to  300  a  month,  according  to  the 
season.4 

At  first,  as  has  been  indicated,  food  was  given  indis- 
criminately and  in  uncertain  quantities.  Later  it  was 
reduced  to  fixed  rations,  given  at  intervals  of  two  or  three 
days,  and  finally  of  a  week.  At  first  bread  and  crackers 
were  supplied,  the  latter  being  entirely  contributions  from 
abroad.  After  families  had  been  supplied  with  stoves, 

1  Report  of  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  1874,  pp.  142,  143. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  143.  3  Ibid.,  p.  143.  4  Ibid.,  p.  149. 


CHAP,  i  METHODS  OF   WORK  373 

flour  was  supplied  at  a  greatly  diminished  expense.  Coffee 
or  tea  was  given  as  the  applicant  preferred,  but  tea,  which 
was  the  cheaper,  was  usually  chosen.1 

The  following  is  an  exhibit  of  the  amount  and  cost  of 
one  week's  rations  for  two  adults  and  three  children  :2  — 

3  pounds  of  pork,  at  5|  cents $.1 6| 

(5  pounds  of  beef,  at  5  cents 30 

14  pounds  of  flour,  at  3  cents      .......       .42 

l\  pecks  of  potatoes,  at  20  cents 25 

i  pound  of  tea,  at  80  cents 20 

I|  pounds  of  sugar,  at  11  cents 16£ 

l£  pounds  of  rice  at  8  cents ;  or  3£  pounds  of  beans  at  3|  cents      .12 

l£  pounds  of  soap,  at  7  cents 09 

1£  pounds  of  dried  apples,  at  8  cents 12 

3  pounds  of  fresh  beef,  at  5  cents        ......       .15 

Total .        .        .        .        .  |L98~ 

If  bread,  at  4  cents  per  pound,  was  used  instead  of  flour,  the 

cost  was  increased $.42 

If  crackers  at  7  cents  per  pound 1.05 

If  1J  pounds  of  coffee  instead  of  tea 17 

An  ample  supply  of  bituminous  coal  and  special  con- 
sideration from  the  many  companies  and  railways  enabled 
the  committee  to  supply  fuel  at  a  weekly  cost  of  fl,12J, 
making  the  cost  of  food  and  fuel  for  each  family  $3.10^. 
The  demand  for  fuel  being  constant  and  next  in  impor- 
tance to  that  for  food,  a  large  depot  of  coal  was  kept  in 
reserve  for  emergencies  in  case  of  interruption  to  railroad 
transportation  by  snowfalls  and  other  causes  during  the 
winter.3 

The  need  for  clothing  was  "incessant  and  immense." 
Large  supplies  had  been  sent  forward,  but  these  were 
chiefly  of  second-hand  summer  clothing  and  answered  only 
a  temporary,  although  good,  purpose.  The  necessity  for 
substituting  better  and  warmer  garments  was  imperative. 
It  was  discovered  that  "  the  markets  of  this  country  could 
not  supply  the  demand  for  blankets  alone.  Piece  goods 
were  in  many  instances  given  out  in  measured  quantity  to 
applicants  to  make  up  for  themselves.  In  this  work  great 
assistance  was  rendered  by  such  associations  of  ladies  as  the 

1  Report  of  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  1874,  p.  150. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  151.  *  Ibid.,  p.  152. 


374  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

Ladies'  Relief  and  Aid  Society ;  the  Ladies'  Industrial  Aid 
Society  of  St.  John's  Church ;  the  Ladies'  Christian  Union  ; 
the  Ladies'  Society  of  Park  Avenue  Church;  and  the 
Ladies'  Society  of  the  Home  of  the  Friendless.  All  of  these 
societies  employed  a  large  number  of  sewing  women, 
thrown  out  of  employment  by  the  fire,  in  making  up  gar- 
ments, bed  comforters,  bed-ticks,  and  other  articles,  from 
piece  goods  supplied  by  the  Relief  Committee,  to  be 
returned,  thus  manufactured,  to  the  several  depots  for 
distribution."1 

Associated  with  the  purchasing  committee  were  ex- 
perienced and  responsible  merchants  whose  "  operations 
extended  to  all  parts  of  this  country  and  of  England." 
For  this  committee  a  large  clerical  force  and  a  thorough 
organization  were  required.  The  government,  through 
General  Sheridan,  furnished  7000  blankets  and  5000  com- 
plete sets  of  underclothes. 

As  early  as  October  24  instructions  were  issued  to 
superintendents,  assistants,  and  visitors  in  the  service  of 
the  society  to  the  effect  that  "  not  a  single  dollar  be 
expended  for  persons  able  to  provide  for  themselves,  no 
matter  how  strongly  their  claim  may  be  urged  by  them- 
selves or  others.  Every  carpenter  or  mason  can  now  earn 
from  three  to  four  dollars  per  day,  every  laborer  two 
dollars,  every  half -grown  boy  one  dollar,  every  woman 
capable  of  doing  household  work  from  two  to  three  dollars 
per  week  and  her  board,  either  in  the  city  or  country. 
Clerks,  and  persons  unaccustomed  to  outdoor  labor,  if 
they  cannot  find  such  employment  as  they  have  been 
accustomed  to,  must  take  such  as  is  offered  or  leave  the 
city.  Any  man,  single  woman,  or  boy,  able  to  work,  and 
unemployed  at  this  time,  is  so  from  choice  and  not  from 
necessity.  You  will,  therefore,  at  once  commence  the 
work  of  reexamination  of  the  cases  of  all  persons  who 
have  been  visited  and  recorded  upon  your  books,  and  will 
give  no  aid  to  any  families  who  are  capable  of  earning 
their  own  support,  if  fully  employed  (except  it  be  to 
supply  some  needed  articles  of  clothing,  bedding,  or  fur- 
niture which  their  earnings  will  not  enable  them  to  procure, 

1  Report  of  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  1874,  p.  152. 


CHAP,  i  UNDERLYING  PRINCIPLES  375 

and  at  the  same  time  meet  their  ordinary  expenses  of  food 
and  fuel). 

"No  aid  should  be  rendered  to  persons  possessed  of 
property,  either  personal  or  real,  from  which  they  might, 
by  reasonable  exertions,  procure  the  means  to  supply  their 
wants,  nor  to  those  who  have  friends  able  to  relieve  them. 

"  Our  aid  must  be  held  sacred  for  the  aged,  infirm, 
widows,  and  orphans,  and  to  supply  to  families  those  actual 
necessaries  of  life,  which,  with  the  best  exertions  on  their 
part,  they  are  unable  to  procure  by  their  labor.  You  will 
intrust  this  work  of  reexamination  to  your  most  judicious 
and  intelligent  visitors,  who  will  act  conscientiously  and 
fearlessly  in  the  discharge  of  their  duties." 1  On  the  same 
day  definite  instructions  were  added  on  the  following 
points  :  — 

"  In  the  distribution  of  supplies,  give  uncooked  instead 
of  cooked  food  to  all  families  provided  with  stoves  —  flour 
instead  of  bread,  etc. 

"  The  Shelter  Committee  furnish  all  families  for  whom 
they  provide  houses  and  barracks,  with  stove,  bedstead, 
and  mattress,  and  no  issue  of  those  articles  to  such  families 
will  be  necessary  on  your  part. 

"  Superintendents  of  Districts  and  Subdistricts  will  so 
keep  an  account  of  their  disbursements  as  to  give  a  correct 
report  to  me  at  the  end  of  each  week,  the  number  of 
families  aided  during  the  week,  and  the  amount,  in  gross, 
of  supplies  distributed. 

"  Superintendents  will  also  ascertain  and  report,  as  early 
as  possible,  the  amount  of  furniture,  number  of  stoves, 
amount  of  common  crockery,  etc.,  which  will  be  needed  in 
their  respective  districts. 

"  Superintendents  will  also  organize  their  working  force 
as  early  as  possible,  retaining  upon  their  force  those  who 
have  proved  themselves  the  most  efficient  and  capable 
in  the  discharge  of  their  duties,  reducing  the  number  of 
paid  employees  to  the  smallest  number  consistent  with  the 
efficient  performance  of  the  work  of  their  districts. 

"  No  person  in  the  employ  of  the  Society  will  be  allowed 
to  receive  for  his  own  use  any  supplies  of  any  kind  what- 

1  Report  of  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  1874,  pp.  158,  159. 


376  PRINCIPLES   OF  BELIEF  PART  iv 

ever,  except  it  be  through  the  ordinary  channels  of  relief, 
and  recorded  on  the  books  of  the  office  in  which  he  is 
employed. 

44  In  all  cases  of  applicants  moving  into  your  district 
from  another,  you  will,  before  giving  any  relief,  ascertain, 
by  inquiry  at  the  office  of  the  district  from  which  they 
came,  if  they  had  been  aided  in  that  district,  and  to  what 
extent. 

44  In  the  issue  of  supplies  you  will  discriminate  accord- 
ing to  the  health  and  condition  of  the  family,  furnishing 
to  the  aged,  infirm,  and  delicate  supplies  not  ordinarily 
furnished  to  those  in  robust  health."  : 

On  April  1  the  work  of  the  society  was  consolidated 
in  the  central  office,  and  it  was  announced  that  "  Only  the 
sick,  aged,  and  infirm,  and  poor  widows  with  dependent 
children  will  be  regarded  as  subjects  for  relief.  There 
will  be  no  further  issue  of  stoves,  furniture,  bedding,  nor 
clothing. 

44  No  further  appropriations  will  be  made  for  buildings 
or  anything  pertaining  to  improvement  of  property  or 
payment  of  ground  rent."2 

The  difficulties  of  storing  and  distributing  supplies 
were  increased  by  the  fact  that  the  principal  railroad  depots 
had  been  destroyed  by  the  fire.  Between  October  11 
and  October  16,  330  car-loads  of  goods  were  received. 
Coming  free  of  freight  charges,  they  were  without  way- 
bills or  invoices  and  necessarily  to  be  unloaded  from 
'side-tracks  at  remote  points  of  the  city.  They  were 
instantly  opened,  and  their  contents  sent  without  record 
or  count  wherever  they  were  supposed  to  be  most  needed. 
General  Sheridan  had  taken  possession  of  two  large  ware- 
houses which  were  soon  afterwards  turned  over  to  a  com- 
mittee, and  later  three  stores,  a  church,  and  a  skating-rink 
were  occupied  as  storehouses  and  points  of  distribution.3 

In  accordance  with  the  principle  of  concentration,  these 
general  storehouses  were  afterwards  reduced  to  two,  the 
skating-rink  in  the  west  division  of  the  city  and  a  church 
in  the  south.  The  latter  was  also  the  headquarters  of  the 
special  bureau  to  which  reference  will  be  made  below. 

1  Report  of  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  1874,  pp.  159,  160. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  161.  8  Ibid.,  p.  176. 


CHAP,  i  DIFFICULT  PROBLEMS  377 

When  this  was  abandoned,  the  skating-rink  remained  the 
sole  depot  for  all  articles  except  vegetables.  These  were 
stored  in  a  large  frost-proof  building  built  for  the  purpose, 
and  in  two  large  cellars.1 

During  the  early  weeks  expenditures  for  transportation 
were  heavy.  The  committee  which  was  in  charge  of  this 
transportation  also  took  charge  of  the  special  task  of  pro- 
viding passes  for  the  large  number  of  persons  who  wished 
to  leave  Chicago  and  were  without  the  means  of  doing  so. 
At  first  passes  were  issued  by  this  committee,  which  were 
honored  by  the  different  railways.  After  a  few  weeks  the 
committee  gave  only  recommendations  for  passes  which 
were  usually  accepted  by  the  roads.  At  a  still  later  period 
half-fare  tickets  were  issued  upon  the  recommendation  of 
the  chairman  of  the  committee  —  an  arrangement  which  is 
generally  in  force  in  ordinary  times,  the  recommendation 
of  one  or  more  recognized  agencies  being  accepted  by  the 
railways  in  each  city.  Between  October  13,  1871,  and  the 
end  of  the  month  2766  passes  were  issued  good  for  6017 
persons.  By  May  1,  1873,  these  numbers  had  been  in- 
creased by  about  one  thousand  respectively. 

Perhaps  the  most  exceptional  feature  of  the  relief  prob- 
lem presented  by  the  fire  was  the  necessity  for  providing 
shelter  at  the  beginning  of  the  winter  months  for  a  total 
population  of  from  35,000  to  40,000  persons.  The  suburbs 
of  the  city  were  so  few  in  number  and  for  the  most  part 
so  distant,  that  only  a  few  of  those  who  were  homeless 
found  immediate  shelter  in  them.  The  churches  and 
schoolhouses  which  were  at  first  thrown  open  were  "  un- 
suitable, and  at  best  temporary  resting  places."2 

The  temporary  barracks  constructed  by  the  Citizens' 
Committee  were  open  to  grave  objections  as  the  homes  for 
the  winter  of  a  large  number  of  people.  It  was  felt  that 
"  so  large  a  number  brought  into  promiscuous  and  involun- 
tary association  would  almost  certainly  engender  disease 
and  promote  idleness,  disorder,  and  vice,  and  be  dangerous 
to  themselves  and  to  the  neighborhood  in  which  they  might 
be  placed.  Such  buildings  could  only  be  put  up  by  suffer- 
ance upon  land  to  which  the  occupants  could  obtain  no  title, 

1  Report  of  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  1874,  p.  177. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  183. 


378  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

could  have  no  interest  in  improving,  and  from  which  they 
would  undoubtedly  be  removed  in  the  spring,  if  not  sooner, 
by  the  actual  owners."  It  was  therefore  decided  to  erect 
small  houses,  or  rather  in  most  instances  to  supply  the 
materials  from  which  heads  of  families  might  erect  their 
own.  The  total  cost  of  the  houses  when  simply  furnished 
was  1125,  and  nearly  8000  of  these  houses  were  built  or 
the  material  provided  by  the  Shelter  Committee.  More 
than  5000  of  them  had  been  erected  by  the  middle  of 
November.  It  was  estimated  that  the  actual  rental  value 
of  these  houses  was  about  $10  a  month,  and  as  the  cost 
of  the  houses  exclusive  of  furniture  was  $  100,  the  rental 
for  ten  months  would  cover  the  cost  of  construction.  In 
no  case,  however,  was  rent  charged  to  occupants.1 

Besides  the  isolated  houses  there  were  in  different  sec- 
tions of  the  city  four  barracks,  in  which  were  lodged  one 
thousand  families  mainly  of  the  class  who  had  not  hitherto 
lived  in  houses  of  their  own,  but  in  rooms  in  tenement- 
houses.  In  these  barracks  each  family  had  two  separate 
rooms,  and  they  were  furnished  in  precisely  the  same  way 
as  the  separate  houses.  As  the  number  of  those  cared  for 
in  one  place  did  not  exceed  1250,  and  these  were  under  the 
constant  and  careful  supervision  of  medical  and  police 
superintendents,  their  health  and  sanitary  condition  was  as 
good  as  that  which  they  had  experienced  in  their  own 
homes,  if  not  better.  Only  one  death  occurred  in  the  bar- 
racks during  the  first  month. 

At  the  same  time  the  provision  of  separate  houses  was 
a  much  more  satisfactory  arrangement,  and  is  in  fact  one  of 
the  best  instances  of  emergency  relief  which  has  been  de- 
vised under  similar  circumstances.  To  replace  a  house 
which  had  been  owned  or  rented  with  the  essential  furnish- 
ings was  practically  to  take  the  place  of  fire  insurance, 
and  the  relief  provided  in  this  way  for  8000  families  is  the 
most  conspicuous  instance  on  record  of  the  positive  efficacy 
of  adequate  and  well-managed  relief  in  enabling  those  who 
have  suffered  from  such  a  calamity  speedily  to  regain  prac- 
tical self-support. 

Of  equal  interest,  although  perhaps  less  striking  —  since 

1  Report  of  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  1874,  p.  189. 


CHAP,  i  RESTORATION  TO   INDEPENDENCE  379 

each  case  stands  more  or  less  on  its  own  basis,  making  it 
more  difficult  to  form  a  comprehensive  survey — was  the 
work  of  the  Special  Relief  Committee. 

In  the  course  of  the  thirty  years  since  the  Chicago  fire, 
it  has  come  to  be  perceived  that  practically  all  relief  is 
special  relief,  and  that  there  are  few  instances  in  which  a 
close  and  sympathetic  scrutiny  of  the  actual  circumstances 
will  not  suggest  some  deviation  from  conventional  and 
routine  relief  methods.  Even  now,  however,  the  United 
Hebrew  Charities  of  New  York  City,  one  of  the  largest 
relief  agencies,  expends  a  considerable  sum  annually  in 
"  special  relief  "  of  unusual  kinds,  and  it  was  a  progressive 
and  enlightened  spirit  that  prompted  the  attempt  to  dis- 
cover the  exceptional  cases  in  which  money  rather  than 
relief  in  kind  was  advisable,  and  in  which  it  would  be 
advisable  to  aid  in  the  "purchase  of  tools,  machinery, 
furniture,  fixtures,  or  professional  books,  which  are  neces- 
sary for  engaging  in  any  business  which  has  a  sufficiently 
assured  prospect  of  providing  a  support  for  the  applicant 
and  his  family. " l 

Within  the  eighteen  months  from  the  beginning  of  its 
work  the  Special  Committee  expended  1437,458.09,  of 
which  $6371.80  was  for  rent,  $10,742  for  tools,  $138,855.26 
for  sewing-machines,  and  $281,389.03  for  other  special 
forms  of  relief.2  By  arrangements  made  with  most  of  the 
sewing-machine  companies,  persons  who  were  deemed  en- 
titled to  such  aid  were  allowed  a  discount  of  40  per  cent 
from  regular  retail  prices.  In  the  greater  proportion  of 
such  cases  the  committee  advanced  to  sewing-machine 
companies  the  sum  of  $20  toward  such  purchase,  leaving 
the  applicant  to  pay  the  remainder,  which,  on  a  $70  ma- 
chine, amounted  to  $22,  and  for  the  payment  of  which  a 
liberal  credit  was  granted  by  the  companies.  When  the 
circumstances  were  such  as  to  render  it  expedient,  the 
entire  price  of  the  machine,  less  the  agreed  discount,  was 
paid  by  the  committee,  and  subsequently  three  of  the  com- 
panies made  a  discount  of  50  per  cent  when  the  commit- 
tee paid  for  the  machine.  In  all  instances  the  applicant 


1  Report  of  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  1874,  p.  199. 
*  Ibid.,  p.  201. 


380  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

selected  the  kind  of  machine  desired.1  In  the  judgment 
of  the  committee  this  form  of  relief  was  productive  of 
great  good.  "  It  rendered  a  large  number  of  worthy  and 
industrious  sewing  women,  whose  means  of  subsistence 
had  been  wholly  destroyed  by  the  fire,  at  once  self-support- 
ing." 

The  relief  effected  by  this  committee  was  varied.  "  Car- 
penters, masons,  tinners,  bookbinders,  locksmiths,  tailors, 
shoemakers,  and  workers  in  almost  every  branch  of  me- 
chanical industry,  were  supplied  with  tools  ;  machinery  of 
various  kinds  was  furnished ;  surgeons,  dentists,  and 
engineers  were  supplied  with  the  instruments  of  their 
respective  callings.  Many  persons  were  aided  with  furni- 
ture and  means  to  open  boarding-houses. 

"  The  aim  of  the  committee  in  this  class  of  cases  was, 
by  aiding  the  applicant  with  the  needful  tools  and  appli- 
ances for  prosecuting  some  kind  of  business  or  industrial 
pursuit,  to  enable  him,  at  the  earliest  practicable  period,  to 
obtain  a  support,  and  relieve  him  from  the  necessity  of 
any  further  application  for  assistance. 

"  The  relief  thus  afforded  extended  to  a  class  in  our 
community,  who,  while  they  were  the  severest  sufferers  by 
the  fire,  had  hitherto  received  less  than  any  other  from 
the  relief  funds. 

"  Money  which  simply  placed  in  the  applicant's  posses- 
sion the  means  of  earning  his  own  support  could  be  re- 
ceived without  humiliation  and  without  injury ;  and  the 
machinery  and  appliances  which  were  thus  purchased  were 
not  lost,  but  constituted  lasting  additions  to  the  produc- 
tive industry  of  the  community/'2 

As  rapidly  as  possible  the  same  degree  of  system  and 
efficiency  was  introduced  into  the  provision  for  the  sick 
and  disabled,  as  was  shown  in  other  departments,  emergency 
and  necessarily  crude  devices  being  supplanted,  as  changed 
circumstances  permitted,  by  definite  arrangements  with 
suitably  equipped  hospitals,  the  establishment  of  dispen- 
saries, and  the  adoption  of  sanitary  measures  to  prevent 
epidemics. 

1  Report  of  the  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  1874,  p.  200.    This 
probably  refers  to  the  make  and  not  the  quality  of  the  machine. 

2  Report  of  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  1874,  p.  201. 


CHAP,  i  THE    SPECIAL   FUND   FOR   WOMEN  381 

Although  after  the  fire  there  was  no  lack  of  employ- 
ment, particularly  of  unskilled  labor,  it  was  nevertheless 
thought  prudent  to  establish  an  employment  bureau,  which 
was  of  service  in  connection  with  the  work  of  the  Special 
Committee,  the  Committee  on  Transportation,  and  in  other 
ways.  The  bureau  did  not  undertake  to  find  employment 
for  women,  although  cooperating  societies  gave  abundant 
employment  to  seamstresses.1 

A  special  contribution  of  §50,000  was  sent  to  the  mayor 
of  Chicago  by  A.  T.  Stewart  on  October  10.  As  it 
was  the  desire  of  the  donor  that  it  should  be  mainly 
devoted  to  the  aid  of  self-supporting  women  and  widows 
and  children,  it  remained  untouched  until  November  15, 
although  a  committee  had  earlier  been  appointed,  in  part 
by  the  donor  himself  and  in  part  by  the  Relief  and  Aid 
Society.  When  the  distribution  of  this  fund  was  taken 
up,  "records  of  the  several  distributing  districts  were 
examined  to  ascertain  approximately  the  number  of  appli- 
cants of  the  classes  designated  that  might  be  reasonably 
expected  to  apply  for  aid  from  this  fund. 

"  It  was  thus  ascertained  that  the  percentage  of  widows 
and  single  women  dependent  upon  their  own  exertions  for 
support  who  had  been  burned  out  was  about  34  per  cent." 

The  committee  fixed  $100  as  the  maximum  to  be  given 
in  any  one  case,  which  amount  was  afterward  increased  to 


The  society  itself  continued  disbursements  to  the  same 
class  through  the  same  committee  from  the  month  of 
March,  1872,  until  the  expenditures  amounted  to  $95,100. 

There  were  915  approved  applicants  for  relief  from  the 
Stewart  Fund  of  $50,000,  and  808  for  relief  from  an  addi- 
tional $45,100.  Of  the  persons  aided,  651  were  single 
women,  1989  widows,  and  there  were  3215  children. 

1  Report  of  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  1874,  pp.  272,  273. 

2  Ibid.,  p.  282. 


CHAPTER   II 

THE   JOHNSTOWN   FLOOD 

IN  the  afternoon  of  the  last  day  of  May,  1889,  occurred 
the  Johnstown  Flood,  resulting  in  the  loss  of  between  2000 
and  3000  lives  and  the  destruction  in  the  Conemaugh 
Valley,  in  western  Pennsylvania,  of  property  valued  at 
$12,000,000.  The  bursting  of  a  dam  released  a  body 
of  water  of  about  700  acres,  sixty  or  seventy  feet  deep, 
causing  death  and  suffering  unequalled  even  by  the  Chicago 
fire  —  although  there  have  been  several  disasters  in  which 
the  loss  of  material  property  was  greater.  The  chairman 
of  the  Citizens'  Relief  Committee  of  Pittsburg  uses  the 
following  language  : 1  — 

"In  the  morning  there  stood  hundreds  of  substantial 
and  beautiful  houses,  streets  of  warehouses  filled  with  mer- 
chandise, hotels,  churches,  schools,  and  factories  ;  when 
night  came  there  was  but  a  plain  of  gravel  and  mud,  splin- 
tered fragments  of  houses,  scattered  piles  of  bricks,  masses 
of  massive  machinery  torn  from  their  beds  in  the  factories 
and  lying  in  shapeless  piles  of  ruin,  scattered  and  broken 
household  furnishings,  costly  merchandise,  and  thousands 
of  corpses  buried  in  mud  and  water.  In  one  short  and 
terrible  hour  more  than  1600  houses,  filled  with  men, 
women,  and  children,  were  wrecked  and  ruined." 

The  city  of  Johnstown,  situated  seventy-five  miles  east 
of  Pittsburg,  is  the  site  of  one  of  the  most  important 
iron  and  steel  industries  of  Pennsylvania,  and  is  described, 
even  at  the  time  of  the  flood,  as  one  of  the  busiest  towns 
of  the  busiest  of  states.  From  5000  to  7000  men  were 
employed,  chiefly  in  iron  and  steel  industries,  with  all 

1  William  McCreery  :  Report  of  Citizens  Relief  Committee  of  Pittsburg. 

382 


CHAP,  ii  EXTENT   OF   THE   CALAMITY  383 

the  indications  of  good  wages,  thrift,  and  regularity  of 
work. 

The  bursting  of  the  dam,  although  attributed  at  the 
time,  by  many,  to  carelessness,  appears  to  have  been  due 
to  the  unprecedented  and  long-continued  rains,  which 
resulted  not  only  in  this  disaster  but  also  in  the  destruc- 
tion of  a  heavy  railroad  bridge  between  Harrisburg  and 
Altoona,  and  in  floods  in  various  other  parts  of  Pennsyl- 
vania and  adjoining  states,  from  which  there  was  even 
greater  loss  of  property  than  in  Johnstown. 

The  flood  destroyed  the  bridges  and  a  large  part  of 
the  city,  depositing,  where  the  houses  had  stood,  a  vast 
amount  of  wreckage  of  all  sorts  containing  the  bodies  of 
human  beings  and  animals.  The  survivors  found  refuge 
in  the  houses  left  standing  upon  the  bluffs  and  higher 
ground  on  either  side  of  the  flood,  thus  being  separated 
from  each  other.  As  soon  as  the  waters  had  subsided,  on 
Saturday,  June  1,  a  meeting  of  survivors  was  held  in  a 
tavern  which  had  escaped  the  flood,  and  committees  were 
appointed  on  finance,  on  supplies,  on  police,  on  the  care 
of  the  dead,  and  on  other  departments  of  work  which 
appeared  to  require  attention.  The  first  effective  step, 
however,  in  the  relief  of  the  stricken  community  was 
taken  by  the  Johnstown  Relief  Corps,  organized  by  the 
Pittsburg  Relief  Committee,  under  the  personal  direction 
of  James  B.  Scott,  one  of  the  most  capable  business 
men  of  Pittsburg,  who  later  became  a  member  of  the 
Flood  Commission.  This  corps  of  volunteers,  within 
twenty-four  hours  of  the  disaster,  started  for  Johnstown 
with  a  railway  train  filled  with  provisions.  Full  dis- 
cretion had  been  given  to  Mr.  Scott  and  his  associates, 
and  every  assurance  that  whatever  requisitions  were 
made  on  the  relief  committee  would  be  honored.  Mem- 
bers of  the  relief  corps,  consisting  largely  of  men  unused 
to  manual  labor,  carried  these  provisions  over  a  rough 
and  dangerous  path  of  nearly  a  mile,  as  it  was  known 
that  the  flood  had  destroyed  all  food  supplies  in  the 
valley,  and  neither  wagons  nor  trains  could  reach  a 
nearer  point. 

No  previous  calamity,  with  the  exception  of  the  Chicago 
fire,  and  incidental  features  of  the  great  Civil  War,  had 


384  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

made  greater  demands  upon  the  sympathy  and  charity  of 
the  nation.  Subscriptions  were  immediately  opened  in 
all  communities.  Early  on  Saturday  morning,  June  1, 
the  citizens  of  Pittsburg  and  Allegheny  assembled  to  con- 
sider what  action  should  be  taken,  and  upon  the  relief 
committee  appointed  at  this  meeting  fell  subsequently  a 
large  part  of  the  responsibility  for  relief. 

A  meeting  of  representative  citizens,  called  in  Washing- 
ton by  President  Harrison,  was  typical  of  the  clearness 
with  which  the  need  of  relief  was  everywhere  recognized, 
and  the  spirit  of  "  impatient  benevolence  "  with  which  the 
people  acted.  "  In  such  meetings  as  we  have  here,"  said 
the  President,  "  and  other  like  gatherings  that  are  taking 
place  in  all  cities  of  this  land,  we  have  the  only  rays  of 
hope  and  light  in  the  general  gloom.  When  such  a  calam- 
itous visitation  falls  upon  any  section  of  our  country,  we 
can  do  no  more  than  put  about  the  dark  picture  the  golden 
border  of  love  and  charity.  It  is  in  such  fires  as  these 
that  the  brotherhood  of  man  is  welded. 

"And  where  is  sympathy  and  help  more  appropriate 
than  here  in  the  national  capital  ?  I  am  glad  to  say  that 
early  this  morning,  from  a  city  not  long  ago  visited  with 
pestilence,  not  long  ago  itself  appealing  to  the  charitable 
people  of  the  whole  land  for  relief, —  the  city  of  Jackson- 
ville, Florida, —  there  came  the  ebb  of  that  tide  of  charity 
which  flowed  toward  it  in  the  time  of  its  need,  in  a  tele- 
gram from  the  Sanitary  Relief  Association,  authorizing 
me  to  draw  upon  them  for  $2000  for  the  relief  of  the 
Pennsylvania  sufferers." 

Such  contributions,  remnants  of  some  earlier  relief  fund, 
are  a  not  uncommon  incident  of  new  relief  funds.  One 
of  the  first  contributions  made  to  the  Martinique  relief 
of  1902  was  from  a  fund  formed  to  aid  the  sufferers  from 
a  fire  in  Jacksonville,  Florida,  the  same  city  from  which 
the  subscription  to  Johnstown  had  come  thirteen  years 
before. 

The  Pennsylvania  Railroad,  the  Baltimore  and  Ohio 
Railroad,  and  the  Western  Union  Telegraph  Company, 
although  themselves  severe  sufferers,  placed  their  entire 
service  at  the  disposal  of  the  Pittsburg  committee,  and 
later  at  the  disposal  of  those  who  were  responsible  for  the 


CHAP,  ii  CONTRIBUTIONS  385 

administration  of  relief  from  other  sources.  One  million 
of  dollars,  in  money,  clothing,  provisions,  and  other  neces- 
saries, was  received  and  disbursed  for  the  direct  aid  of 
Johnstown  by  the  Pittsburg  committee. 

On  June  3  a  proclamation  was  issued  by  James  A. 
Beaver,  governor  of  Pennsylvania,  to  the  people  of  the 
United  States,  in  which  he  gave  official  assurance  that 
newspaper  reports  as  to  the  loss  of  life  and  property  had 
not  been  exaggerated,  although,  as  it  afterwards  appeared, 
the  estimate  which  Governor  Beaver  incorporated  into  his 
proclamation  proved,  both  as  to  the  loss  of  life  and  as  to  the 
loss  of  property,  to  be  about  twice  as  great  as  had  actually 
occurred.  This  is  not  surprising,  in  view  of  the  difficulty, 
not  only  of  establishing  communication,  but  of  estimating 
the  extent  of  the  loss,  even  on  the  ground.  The  procla- 
mation, after  acknowledging  hearty  and  generous  offers 
of  help  from  the  President,  governors  of  states,  mayors 
of  cities,  individuals,  committees,  and  private  and  munici- 
pal corporations,  ended  with  the  assurance  that  contribu- 
tions would  be  used  carefully  and  judiciously  and  in  such 
a  manner  as  to  bring  them  to  the  immediate  and  direct 
relief  of  those  families  for  whose  benefit  they  were 
intended. 

Subscription  lists  were  opened  everywhere  and  in  a 
great  variety  of  ways.  Material  contributions  from  indi- 
viduals and  local  committees  were  soon  concentrated  at 
four  different  points :  at  Harrisburg,  under  the  personal 
control  of  the  governor ;  at  Philadelphia,  under  the  Per- 
manent Relief  Committee  of  that  city  ;  at  Pittsburg,  under 
the  Citizens'  Relief  Committee ;  and  at  New  York,  under 
a  relief  committee.  There  were,  however,  other  commit- 
tees at  other  points  acting  independently  of  one  another, 
and  there  was  no  common  knowledge  of  disbursements 
and  appropriations.  To  avoid  the  confusion  certain  to 
ensue  from  this  situation,  there  was  appointed,  on  the 
eleventh  day  of  June,  the  so-called  Flood  Relief  Commis- 
sion, consisting  of  ten  gentlemen,  representing  the  various 
principal  committees  previously  formed,  and,  as  far  as 
possible,  the  direction  and  control  of  all  relief  work 
throughout  the  entire  flooded  district  was  concentrated 
in  the  state  commission. 

2c 


386  PRINCIPLES  OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

The  Flood  Commission  consisted  of  the  following : 
Edwin  H.  Fitler,  Thomas  Dolan,  John  Y.  Huber,  Robert 
C.  Ogden,  and  Francis  B.  Reeves,  from  the  Philadelphia 
Relief  Committee  ;  James  B.  Scott,  Reuben  Miller,  and 
S.  S.  Marvin,  from  the  Pittsburg  Relief  Committee ; 
H.  H.  Cummin,  of  Williamsport,  as  a  representative  of 
the  flooded  districts  in  the  eastern  part  of  the  state,  and 
John  Fulton,  of  Johnstown,  as  representing  the  Cone- 
maugh  Valley.  The  last  named,  however,  was  unable  to 
serve,  and  although  attempts  were  made  to  supply  a  sub- 
stitute from  Johnstown,  they  were  unsuccessful.  J.  B. 
Kremer,  of  Carlisle,  Pennsylvania,  was  made  secretary  of 
the  commission. 

At  a  public  meeting  held  Tuesday,  June  4,  the  whole 
conduct  of  affairs  had  been  placed  in  the  hands  of  Mr. 
Scott,  and  the  responsibility  remained  upon  him  for  a 
period  of  eight  days  —  June  4  to  12 —  until  the  Pitts- 
burg  Committee  was  relieved ;  and  at  the  same  meeting, 
committees  had  been  appointed,  in  many  instances  the 
appointments  being  identical  with  those  made  in  the  town- 
meeting  three  days  before.  During  the  administration  of 
Mr.  Scott  large  sums  of  money  were  expended  from  the 
funds  sent  to  the  Pittsburg  Relief  Committee  (over 
$200,000),  not  only  in  the  purchase  of  food  and  clothing, 
but  in  establishing  communication  between  the  different 
parts  of  the  city,  in  the  search  for  and  burial  of  the  dead, 
in  the  cremation  of  the  large  number  of  bodies  of  domestic 
animals  scattered  through  the  valley,  and  in  other  meas- 
ures of  relief.1  From  6000  to  7000  persons  were  employed 
at  this  time,  and  30,000  persons  were  receiving  relief. 

It  was  found  that  the  only  constitutional  method  by 
which  the  assistance  of  the  state,  as  such,  could  be  given, 
was  through  the  state  board  of  health.  There  was  ample 
warrant  for  action  by  this  body,  as  the  conditions  were  a 
serious  menace  to  the  health,  not  only  of  the  immediate, 
but  of  the  surrounding,  communities,  constituting  a  public 
nuisance,  with  which  the  local  authorities  were,  of  course, 
wholly  unable  to  cope,  and  which  was  not  formally  de- 
clared by  the  state  board  of  health  to  be  abated  until 

1  Report  of  secretary  of  Flood  Relief  Commission,  p,  20. 


CHAP,  ii  MILITARY   SUPERVISION  387 

October  12.  The  clearing  of  the  waterways,  and  the 
removal  of  debris  from  the  streets  were,  therefore,  in- 
trusted to  the  state  board  of  health,  which  body,  how- 
ever, was  represented,  after  the  retirement  of  Mr.  Scott 
from  active  direction  on  June  12,  by  Adjutant-General 
Hastings,  who,  both  as  the  representative  of  the  military 
affairs  of  the  state,  and  as  the  representative  of  the  gov- 
ernor in  carrying  out  the  plan  and  purpose  of  the  state 
board  of  health,  assumed  full  control  and  formal  charge 
of  all  local  operations.  General  Hastings  also  assumed 
charge  of  the  relief  work  of  the  Flood  Commission,  sum- 
moning to  his  assistance  for  this  purpose  commissary 
officers  of  the  National  Guard.  Under  General  Hastings 
the  administration  department  of  the  Quartermaster-Gen- 
eral assumed  charge  of  the  work  connected  with  transpor- 
tation, the  erection  of  buildings,  including  storage  houses, 
the  purchase  of  coffins,  and  other  similar  duties.  The 
department  of  public  safety  was  intrusted  with  the  pres- 
ervation of  order,  and  the  protection  of  property ;  the 
medical  department,  with  the  care  of  the  sick  and  injured, 
and  the  proper  burial  of  the  dead  ;  the  bureau  of  informa- 
tion, with  the  securing  of  a  record  of  the  dead,  with  means 
for  their  identification,  and  with  answering  the  inquiries 
from  all  parts  of  the  world ;  the  department  of  valuables, 
with  the  care  of  property  which  was  found,  and  its  restora- 
tion to  the  rightful  owner.  The  officers  in  charge  of  these 
departments,  being  on  military  duty,  received  their  regu- 
lar pay  from  the  state,  but  expenditures  for  the  wages  of 
employees  and  for  supplies  were  made  by  the  commission. 
The  commission  was  represented  at  Johnstown  by  General 
Hastings  until  July  2,  when  Judge  H.  H.  Cummin,  a 
member  of  the  commission,  went  to  Johnstown  as  its 
executive  officer.  After  a  very  brief  service,  however,  he 
became  ill,  and  died  on  August  11,  after  which  time  the 
commission  was  represented  only  by  its  secretary. 

In  the  first  days  of  June,  after  the  temporary  appoint- 
ment of  the  local  Johnstown  committee,  as  many  as  possi- 
ble of  the  able-bodied  survivors  were  set  at  work,  clearing 
away  debris,  under  the  pledges  made  by  representatives 
of  the  Cambria  Company  and  the  Johnson  Company,  that 
they  would  be  paid  for  their  labor.  Stores  were  also 


388  PRINCIPLES    OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

ordered  forward  by  the  chairman  of  the  temporary  com- 
mittee. The  survivors,  who  in  the  midst  of  their  per- 
sonal afflictions  and  physical  sufferings,  undertook  to  do 
what  they  could  for  themselves,  were  entirely  ignorant  of 
what  was  being  done  in  their  behalf  elsewhere,  as  all  tele- 
graphic and  railway  communication  had  been  destroyed. 
Even  the  municipalities  had  for  the  time  being  disap- 
peared. There  was  no  recognized  municipal  authority, 
and  no  suitable  place  in  which  a  council  meeting  could 
have  been  held.  For  a  time  the  only  authority  in  most 
of  the  nine  shattered  boroughs  affected  by  the  flood  was 
the  Police  Committee  appointed  at  the  town-meeting,  and 
those  who  had  been  commissioned  to  act  as  police  officers. 
When  the  sheriff  reached  Johnstown  he  was  induced  to 
deputize  the  men  who  had  just  been  appointed  on  police 
duty,  thus  legalizing  their  position,  although  there  had 
been  little  disposition  to  dispute  their  word.1 

Among  the  committees  appointed  by  Mr.  Scott  immedi- 
ately after  his  arrival  was  a  Finance  Committee,  the 
necessity  for  which,  at  that  time,  arose  from  the  fact  that 
money  had  already  begun  to  arrive  in  considerable  sums, 
consigned  to  various  citizens  who  happened  to  be  known 
to  the  donors.  Even  before  railroad  connections  had  been 
established,  money,  as  well  as  food  and  clothing,  was 
brought  by  private  messengers.  Such  funds  were,  for  the 
most  part,  turned  over  to  the  Finance  Committee,  as  were 
other  like  contributions  received  later  by  citizens  of  stand- 
ing. The  Finance  Committee  proved  to  be  of  great  im- 
portance in  the  relief  work  at  Johnstown.  It  was 
originally  constituted  of  six  citizens,  the  president  of  the 
National  Bank,  the  solicitor  of  the  Cambria  Company,  the 
editor  of  a  daily  paper,  the  cashier  of  the  Savings  Bank, 
and  two  other  gentlemen  connected  with  banking  insti- 

1  For  information  concerning  what  occurred  in  Johnstown  prior  to  the 
beginning  of  the  operations  of  the  Flood  Commission,  and  concerning  the 
part  taken  by  the  Finance  Committee,  the  author  is  indebted  chiefly  to 
Cyrus  Elder,  solicitor  of  the  Cambria  Iron  Company,  a  survivor  of  the 
flood,  and  a  gentleman  who,  from  a  long  residence  in  Johnstown,  before 
and  after  the  disaster,  was  able  to  give  valuable  personal  testimony,  not 
only  upon  the  events  of  the  flood  itself,  but  upon  the  subsequent  effect  of 
the  relief  measures  adopted.  Mr.  Elder  was  secretary  of  the  Finance 
Committee. 


CHAP,  ii  THE   SPIRIT  OF  THE   PEOPLE  389 

tutions.  To  this  Finance  Committee  moneys  were  sent 
directly  from  all  parts  of  the  country,  and  from  the  funds 
in  their  hands  not  only  was  the  first  cash  distribution 
made,  but  there  were  also  appropriations  for  urgent  public 
uses,  such  as  the  restoration  of  the  bridges  and  the  re- 
organization and  equipment  of  the  fire  companies. 

During  the  weeks  of  greatest  distress  and  confusion  the 
unanimity  of  the  people  in  regard  to  public  questions  sub- 
mitted to  their  determination  in  town-meeting  was  very 
marked.  There  was  everywhere  a  spirit  of  helpfulness 
and  acquiescence  in  the  decisions  reached  by  the  director 
and  committees.  Those  who  had  anything  gave  freely  to 
those  in  need,  and  there  was  no  trace  of  jealousy,  or  of 
opposition  to  the  temporary  authorities.  The  unanimous 
approval  of  the  action  of  the  Finance  Committee  in  voting 
large  sums  for  bridges  and  other  public  works  is  an  in- 
stance in  point,  this  action  of  the  town-meeting  virtually, 
as  they  well  knew,  voting  out  of  the  pockets  of  individ- 
uals money  which  had  been  contributed  for  relief.  There 
were  frequent  meetings  at  which  there  would  sometimes  be 
only  a  small  group,  embracing  most  of  those  who  had  first 
met  on  the  day  after  the  flood.  Later  there  were  larger 
assemblages,  although  probably  not  more  than  two  hun- 
dred. Any  one  who  desired  attended  and  participated  in 
the  meeting.  The  Finance  Committee  worked  throughout 
in  harmony  with  the  Flood  Commission,  and  took  an  active 
part  in  the  later  and  larger  distribution  of  cash  made  by 
authority  of  the  commission.  The  Finance  Committee 
appointed  several  sub-committees.  The  most  important  of 
these,  which  indeed  rendered  extraordinary  service,  was 
the  Board  of  Inquiry,  suggested  by  Tom  L.  Johnson, 
who  came  to  Johnstown  as  the  representative  of  Cleveland 
donors.  He  was  intrusted  with  a  large  sum  of  money, 
part  of  which  he  turned  over  to  the  Finance  Committee, 
and  part  of  which  he  applied  directly.  The  Board  of 
Inquiry  was  appointed  for  the  special  purpose  of  making 
a  carefully  verified  statement  of  losses  incurred  by  indi- 
viduals and  families,  and  also  of  deaths  from  the  flood. 

The  first  problem  was,  of  course,  the  supply  of  food. 
In  addition  to  the  purchases  made  by  the  committee  in 
Johnstown,  Pittsburg,  and  Philadelphia,  immense  quanti- 


390  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  iv 

ties  of  provisions  were  donated  and  sent  forward  from  all 
parts  of  the  country.  By  the  afternoon  of  Saturday,  the 
day  after  the  flood,  sufficient  food  was  at  hand,  and  although 
there  was  some  difficulty  in  distributing  it  because  of  the 
absence  of  means  of  communication,  there  was  no  time 
when  there  was  reason  to  fear  a  famine.  Storage  depots 
were  established  at  convenient  points  on  the  railroads,  and 
from  these  supplies  were  sent  to  the  distributing  stations 
in  different  parts  of  the  valley.  At  the  maximum  there 
were  eighteen  of  these  stations.  From  them  daily  reports 
were  received  of  the  number  requiring  assistance  and  the 
kinds  of  supplies  needed.  The  valley  was  divided  into 
districts  ;  residents  were  enrolled  and  furnished  with 
order  cards  available  only  at  the  station  nearest  to  them, 
the  cards  being  cancelled  with  each  supply  of  provisions 
received.  It  was  necessary  to  furnish  food,  not  only  to 
sufferers  from  the  flood,  but  to  employees  and  volunteer 
workers.  The  largest  number  who  received  food  daily 
from  the  commissary  was  about  30,000,  this  number  being 
gradually  reduced  until  July  2,  when  it  was  about  10,000. 
Six  days  later  this  had  been  reduced  50  per  cent,  and  on 
July  20  all  were  dropped  from  the  rolls  except  widows, 
orphan  children,  working  girls  who  had  not  yet  secured 
employment,  and  the  aged  and  the  sick.  On  October  5 
there  remained  on  the  list  464  persons,  on  which  day 
supplies  were  issued  for  ten  days,  and  the  last  commissary 
depot  was  closed.  Wearing  apparel  was  also  purchased 
in  large  quantities  by  the  various  relief  committees,  and 
was  contributed  in  kind  from  all  directions.  Depots  were 
opened  for  distribution.  Referring  to  these  depots  the 
secretary  of  the  Flood  Commission  says  that  they  "were 
managed  with  much  judgment,  but  the  distribution  was 
attended  with  many  difficulties  and  the  result  was  not  as 
satisfactory  as  was  desirable.  However,  the  supply  was 
unlimited  and  as  it  was  given  out  without  stint,  cloth- 
ing, as  well  as  food,  it  can  safely  be  said  that  the  poor  of 
that  city,  or  of  any  other  city,  have  never  been  so  abun- 
dantly supplied." 

This  admission,  that  the  result  was  unsatisfactory,  natu- 
rally raises  some  question  as  to  whether  they  were  really 
"  managed  with  much  judgment,"  and  upon  this  point  the 


CHAP,  ii  THE  DISTRIBUTION  OF  SUPPLIES  391 

evidence  of  L.  S.  Emery,  Secretary  of  the  Associated 
Charities  of  Washington,  D.C.,  is  of  interest.  Mr.  Emery 
accompanied  the  supplies  sent  from  that  city,  and  arrived 
in  Johnstown  on  June  7,  just  one  week  after  the  flood  had 
occurred.  He  gives  the  following  account  of  the  manner 
of  distribution  then  in  force  :  — 

"  Two  windows  were  set  apart,  from  which  clothing  and 
shoes  were  l)eing  thrown  out  over  the  heads  of  the  crowd, 
and  those  having  the  longest  arms  and  stoutest  backs 
seemed  to  be  getting  most  of  it,  without  regard  as  to  who 
they  were,  or  the  suitableness  of  the  garments  thrown 
out.  I  paused  to  observe  this  for  a  few  minutes,  and  then 
passed  along  to  the  window  and  the  door  where  the  gro- 
ceries were  being  doled  out.  Here,  too,  was  a  crowd  of 
persons  with  baskets,  and  as  a  basket  was  reached  out,  it 
would  be  filled  without  any  note  as  to  who  they  were,  and 
the  recipient  would  pass  along.  I  drew  up  close  to  the 
crowd  and  heard  several  citizens  remark,  4  Well,  look 
there,  any  one  can  get  those  goods,'  and  so  it  seemed  to  be, 
if  they  were  strong  enough  to  stand  the  crowd  and  the 
tedious  waiting.  Some  women  stood  aloof  from  the  crowd 
crying,  and  when  asked  what  the  matter  was,  replied  that 
they  could  not  stand  that  crowd  and  could  get  nothing. 
Some  said  they  had  been  waiting  since  morning  to  get  an 
opportunity  to  get  up  to  the  door  or  window  to  get  some- 
thing to  carry  away  to  eat. 

"  I  then  went  to  the  headquarters  of  the  Relief  Com- 
mittee and  introduced  myself  to  the  chairman  by  the  pres- 
entation of  my  certificate  or  credentials,  and  spoke  to  Mr. 
Scott  about  the  manner  of  distribution  as  I  had  observed 
it.  He  would  not  listen  to  any  suggestion  touching  a 
change  in  the  plan  of  distribution.  I  then  went  to  one 
of  the  local  committee  and  laid  the  matter  before  him,  and 
he  agreed  that  there  ought  to  be  some  system  about  it. 

"  I  then,  with  his  consent,  conferred  with  active,  local 
sub-committee  men,  and  agreed  with  them  to  inaugurate 
a  system  by  placing  one  man  on  one  side  of  the  door  or 
window  to  record  the  person  coming  for  assistance  and  the 
goods  received,  and  a  man  on  the  other  side  to  deal  out 
what  was  required,  seeing  to  it  that  the  sufferers  from  the 
flood  received  the  goods,  or  that  they  went  into  proper 


392  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  rv 

hands.  As  they  were  citizens  of  the  place,  they  could 
judge  properly.  On  Saturday,  the  next  day  after  my 
arrival,  that  plan  was  adopted,  and  the  crowd  that  had 
assembled  around  each  of  these  places  early  in  the  morning, 
as  soon  as  they  discovered  that  a  system  or  check  upon  the 
delivery  had  been  inaugurated,  began  to  disappear,,  and  the 
people  for  whom  the  goods  were  intended  began  to  receive 
them."1 

To  Mr.  Emery,  whose  statement  has  just  been  quoted, 
the  committee  assigned  the  duty  of  distributing  several 
car-loads  of  new  cooking  stoves  and  ranges  immediately 
after  they  had  been  received.  He  reports  that  in  less 
than  thirty-six  hours  one  hundred  and  thirty  of  these 
stoves  had  been  delivered  to  bona  fide  sufferers  in  Johns- 
town and  the  suburban  boroughs  having  a  certificate  from 
a  well-known  resident  that  they  were  actual  sufferers. 
A  record  was  made  of  where  they  lived  when  the  flood 
occurred,  where  they  were  at  the  time  the  stove  was  taken, 
and  where  it  was  to  be  delivered.  A  receipt  was  required 
in  each  case.  Even  at  this  time  Mr.  Emery  was  satisfied 
that  there  was  on  hand  a  surplus  of  clothing,  enough  to 
clothe  all  the  survivors  of  the  flood  for  years,  and  an  abun- 
dance of  provisions.  The  militia,  under  a  competent  leader, 
were  in  control,  and  in  hearty  cooperation  with  the  citizens 
in  the  distribution  of  relief  as  well  as  the  reclamation  of 
the  city.  The  presence  of  bayonets  in  Johnstown  appeared, 
to  this  observer,  a  necessity  to  good  order  and  safety,  not 
on  account  of  the  surviving  residents,  but  on  account  of  the 
temporary  laborers  and  the  plunderers  from  other  places. 

The  clothing  depots  were  closed  on  August  17,  the 
remaining  articles  being  sorted  and  packed  away  for  dis- 
tribution on  the  approach  of  winter,  and  in  October,  instead 
of  reorganizing  a  force  for  their  distribution,  they  were 
placed  in  the  warehouse  of  the  Red  Cross  Association.  A 
large  remaining  supply,  which  had  been  stored  in  Phila- 
delphia, was  later  sent  for  distribution  to  the  Union 
Benevolent  Society  and  the  Children's  Aid  Society  of 
Johnstown. 

Estimates  as  to  the  value  of  supplies  of  all  kinds  dis- 

1  Eighth  Annual  Report  of  Associated  Charities  of  the  District  of  Colum- 
bia, pp.  16,  17. 


CHAP,  it  THE   PROBLEM   OF   SHELTER  303 

tributed  between  June  1  and  July  1  vary  from  $500,000  to 
over  $1,000,000.  Over  a  thousand  car-loads  of  goods 
were  brought  to  Johnstown  by  the  railways,  in  addition 
to  the  supplies  carried  by  the  express  companies. 

For  many  survivors  shelter  was  a  need  as  pressing  as 
that  of  food  and  clothing.  The  overcrowding,  resulting 
from  the  reception  of  those  whose  houses  had  been  de- 
stroyed into  the  homes  of  those  who  lived  on  higher 
ground,  soon  became  objectionable.  Governor  Foraker, 
of  Ohio,  forwarded  a  large  number  of  tents,  which,  with 
others  sent  from  the  state  arsenal  at  Harrisburg,  were 
placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  people.  This  means  of 
shelter,  however,  was  not  popular.  The  tents  were  used 
more  by  strangers  who  were  taking  part  in  the  work  of 
relief,  than  by  the  citizens,  and  it  was  recognized  that 
some  substantial  kind  of  shelter  was  essential.  At  the 
same  time  the  condition  of  the  valley  was  such  as  to  pre- 
vent the  erection  of  permanent  buildings.  There  was  a 
heavy  deposit  of  earth,  containing  both  animal  and  vege- 
table matter,  which  must  eventually  be  removed,  and  over 
this  an  accumulation  of  debris,  so  that  it  was  possible 
only  to  erect  temporary  structures  on  the  hillside,  and  on 
properties  which  had  not  been  directly  within  the  limits 
of  the  waters. 

Thereupon  seven  hundred  and  ten  portable  houses  were 
provided,  of  three  different  varieties.  The  Chicago  Re- 
lief Committee  supplied  one  hundred  of  these,  purchas- 
ing them  from  their  own  funds,  and  on  June  21  the  Flood 
Commission  contracted  with  the  dealers  for  a  hundred 
more  of  the  same  variety.  A  price  was  fixed  for  each 
house,  less  than  its  actual  cost,  and  this  price  was  charged 
against  those  to  whom  the  houses  were  supplied,  with  the 
understanding  that  the  amount  would  be  deducted  in  the 
later  apportionment  of  relief.  The  cheapest,  known  as 
"  Oklahomas,"  were  of  one  room,  10  x  20  feet  in  size,  and 
were  purchased  in  sections  easily  put  together.  The  price 
charged  for  these  houses  was  175.  Another  style,  known 
as  the  "  Ready  Made  House,"  was  16  x  24  feet  in  size, 
and  was  divided  by  a  partition  into  two  rooms.  Its  price 
was  $175.  One  hundred  of  these  were  purchased  at  the 
same  time  with  one  hundred  "  Oklahomas  "  bought  by  the 


PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF 


commission.  Neither  one  of  these  types  of  buildings  sat- 
isfied the  people,  and  it  was  not  until  a  considerable  reduc- 
tion had  been  made  in  the  price  that  families  were  found 
willing  to  accept  them.  Plans  were  prepared  for  a  four- 
roomed,  two-story  house,  16  x  24  feet  in  size,  which,  while 
not  finished  for  permanent  occupancy,  could  easily  be 
completed,  or  could  be  used  as  an  addition  to  a  more  pre- 
tentious building.  Four  hundred  of  these  houses,  the 
price  of  which  had  been  fixed  at  |260,  were  purchased  by 
the  commission.  It  was  made  a  condition  of  the  purchase, 
with  which  the  builders  readily  complied,  that  in  the  em- 
ployment of  laborers,  citizens  of  Johnstown  should  have 
preference  over  all  others.  The  demand  for  labor,  how- 
ever, was  greater  than  the  supply,  and  the  larger  part  of 
the  work  was  done  by  men  from  a  distance. 

One  of  the  first  actions  of  General  Hastings  was  to  at- 
tempt to  restore  the  ordinary  municipal  activities  of  the 
various  boroughs.  The  surviving  municipal  officers  were 
sought  out,  and  municipalities  were  reorganized.  In  the 
interregnum  there  had  been  a  voluntary  submission,  on 
the  part  of  the  whole  population,  to  the  emergency  author- 
ities. Order  was  well  maintained,  and  no  crimes  were 
committed.  As  soon  as  practicable,  surviving  municipal 
officials  resumed  their  vocations,  and  vacancies  were  filled 
by  appointment  until  regular  elections  could  be  held.  To 
the  student  of  civil  government  this  deliberate  restoration 
of  municipal  activities  was  a  very  interesting  phenomenon. 
To  the  student  of  economics  the  restoration  of  the  ordi- 
nary commercial  and  business  activities  of  the  city  is  of 
equal  interest.  General  Hastings,  with  the  consent  of  the 
municipal  authorities,  took  possession  of  part  of  the  pub- 
lic square,  and  upon  one  of  its  fronts  erected  blocks  of 
buildings  available  for  business  uses.  The  Finance  Com- 
mittee, to  whose  custody  these  buildings  were  then  turned 
over,  allotted  rooms  in  them  to  business  men  upon  appli- 
cation from  those  who  desired  to  use  them.  Merchants 
in  the  cities  had  been  ready  to  furnish  stocks  of  goods,  in 
many  instances  on  easy  terms,  but  there  had  been  a  lack 
of  storerooms,  and  of  places  to  locate  them.  The  permis- 
sion to  use  the  public  square  for  business  purposes  was 
limited  to  eighteen  months.  The  funds  for  the  erection 


CHAP,  it  GOVERNMENT  AND  BUSINESS  395 

of  buildings  were  supplied  by  the  Flood  Commission. 
Forty-two  stores  were  opened  on  the  first  floors  of  these 
buildings,  and  upper  floors  were  occupied  as  business 
offices.  Thus  the  wheels  of  general  business  were  set  in 
motion,  and  the  objections  made  to  the  erection  of  these 
buildings  from  the  funds  of  the  commission  were  found 
to  be  not  well  grounded.  Nothing  could  have  been  more 
effective  in  restoring  ordinary  industrial  and  business  life 
in  the  community. 

By  the  end  of  June  great  dissatisfaction  began  to  be 
felt  in  Johnstown  because  of  what  appeared,  to  the  sur- 
vivors and  their  friends,  to  be  unreasonable  delay  in  the 
distribution  of  the  relief  funds  which  were  known  to  have 
been  sent  to  the  Flood  Commission.  The  Finance  Com- 
mittee thereupon  resolved  to  make  a  distribution  of  cash 
from  the  funds  in  its  possession,  although  this  was  a  de- 
viation from  the  policy  which  had  been  adopted  when  the 
committee  was  organized  on  June  6.  A  resolution  had 
then  been  adopted  to  the  following  effect :  — 

"  That  the  employment  and  payment  of  labor  to  remove  the  in- 
conceivable amount  of  debris,  in  which  were  buried  thousands  of 
human  bodies,  and  carcasses  of  animals,  and  in  restoring  the  streams 
to  their  natural  channels,  is  of  first  importance  to  us,  and  it  is  also  a 
matter  of  national  concern,  as,  if  this  is  not  fully  effected,  the  tainted 
waters  may  carry  pestilence  into  the  regions  through  which  they  pass. 
This  will  involve  an  expense  of  which  no  approximate  estimate  can 
be  made." 

It  was  also  recognized,  however,  that  the  survivors  of 
the  flood  were  then,  and  for  some  time  must  be,  wholly 
dependent  upon  issues  to  them  of  food  and  clothing,  and 
that  the  method  of  distributing  money  to  the  living  should 
receive  grave  consideration,  and  it  was  then  suggested 
that  another  committee  should  be  appointed  for  this  pur- 
pose, composed  in  part  of  citizens  of  Johnstown,  and  in 
part  of  members  appointed  by  the  governors  of  states,  and 
chambers  of  commerce  of  cities  from  which  contributions 
had  been  received,  or  in  such  other  ways  as  would  give 
the  committee  a  national  character,  and  would  "assure 
the  country  that  its  most  generous  charity  will  be  judi- 
ciously and  fully  applied  to  the  relief  of  the  victims  of  our 
unprecedented  calamity."  It  was  evident  that,  even  at 


396  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

this  time,  the  constitution  and  the  relief  policies  of  the 
commission  did  not  meet  with  the  entire  approval  of  the 
Finance  Committee,  which,  being  entirely  local  in  compo- 
sition, thoroughly  understood  the  situation,  and  was  in 
immediate  personal  touch  with  all  its  phases.  On  June  24 
the  Finance  Committee  adopted  this  resolution :  — 

"  WHEREAS,  this  Committee  has  expected  that  the  State  Commis- 
sion, which  has  control  of  a  large  amount  of  money  contributed  for 
the  relief  of  the  sufferers  by  the  Flood,  would  adopt  a  plan  of  distribu- 
tion for  the  same,  and  proceed  with  this  work,  and  its  failure  to  do  so 
has  cast  upon  this  Committee  the  duty  of  taking  such  action  itself  as 
will  at  least  afford  partial  relief  of  the  prevailing  distress,  therefore 

"  Resolved :  That  the  resolution  of  this  Committee,  adopted  June  6, 
defining  the  powers  of  this  Committee,  is  hereby  modified  in  so  far  as 
it  is  in  conflict  with  the  resolution  following : 

"Resolved:  That  a  sufficient  number  of  offices  shall  be  opened  in 
each  district  which  has  suffered  with  the  Flood,  in  charge  of  competent 
persons,  and  that  the  names  of  families  and  places  of  residence  of  all 
sufferers  shall  be  registered  by  the  head  of  the  family,  when  there  is 
a  surviving  head,  and  other  survivors  being  registered  individually, 
the  present  place  of  residence  being  stated  when  known,  this  being 
done  for  the  purpose  of  enabling  the  Committee  to  distribute  the 
funds  in  their  hands. 

"  Resolved :  That  it  shall  also  be  the  duty  of  the  persons  in  charge 
of  registration  to  make  a  record  of  the  names  of  all  persons  lost  by 
the  Flood. 

"Resolved:  That  the  money  in  the  hands  of  this  Committee  for 
distribution,  shall  be  prorated  equally  among  the  surviving  sufferers 
by  the  Flood,  as  soon  as  the  registration  is  complete." 

The  distribution  made  under  these  resolutions  was  ac- 
complished on  July  8,  and,  being  on  a  per  capita  basis, 
came  to  be  known  as  "head-money"  distribution.  The 
sum  of  |10  was  paid  to  each  person  who  had  in  any  way 
suffered  loss  by  the  flood,  without  regard  to  the  amount 
of  his  loss,  or  the  necessities  of  the  recipients.  Payments 
were  made  to  heads  of  families,  and  although  the  records 
of  the  commission  do  not  show  the  entire  number  of  per- 
sons who  were  aided  at  this  time,  it  is  known  that  4616 
families  or  single  persons  received  allowance,  and  that  the 
total  amount  disbursed  was  1148,890.  At  about  the  same 
time  a  distribution  of  some  15200  was  made  by  the  mayor 
of  the  city  of  St.  Louis  in  person,  this  having  been  the 
request  of  the  donors  of  his  fund,  and  a  further  distribu- 
tion of  $16,929.30  was  made  by  representatives  of  the 


CHAP,  ii  A  PER   CAPITA   DISTRIBUTION  397 

New  York  World.  A  number  of  those  who  participated 
in  this  first  distribution  disappeared  thereafter  from  the 
records  of  relief  agencies,  no  further  applications  being 
received  from  them.  In  some  instances  the  amount  re- 
ceived under  the  per  capita  distribution  was  equal  to,  or 
in  excess  of,  the  loss  that  had  been  sustained  by  the 
recipient. 

On  July  8  it  is  recorded  in  the  minutes  of  the  Finance 
Committee  that  the  Board  of  Inquiry,  to  which  reference 
has  been  made,  had  completed  its  reports,  and  had  made  a 
classified  list  of  sufferers  by  the  flood.  At  the  same  meet- 
ing it  was  announced  that  an  important  meeting  of  the 
Flood  Commission  would  be  held  at  Cresson  a  few  days 
later,  and  the  Finance  Committee  thereupon  determined 
to  recommend  an  immediate  cash  distribution  of  the  sum 
of  $500,000.  Members  of  the  Finance  Committee  had 
received  an  intimation,  prior  to  the  Cresson  meeting,  that 
the  state  commission  would  not  soon,  or  possibly  not  at 
all,  make  any  distribution  of  money  to  the  flood  sufferers. 
It  was  the  intention  to  make  a  contract  for  an  enormous 
supply  of  winter  clothing  and  provisions,  and  to  erect  a 
large  storehouse  to  be  filled  with  them,  and  to  issue  these, 
under  the  auspices  of  the  commission,  to  those  who  ap- 
plied. This  was  in  early  July,  and  winter  six  months 
distant.  To  assume  that  such  a  population  as  that  which 
had  made  up  the  city  of  Johnstown  would,  six  months 
after  even  so  terrible  a  calamity  as  that  of  the  flood,  be 
dependent  upon  weekly  rations  of  food  and  clothing, 
handed  out  to  them  in  kind,  and  that  they  could  not  be 
trusted  to  make  a  better  use  of  any  money  which  had 
been  contributed  for  their  benefit,  appears  now,  to  the 
student,  to  have  been  the  height  of  absurdity.  To  the 
local  workers,  who  were  acquainted  with  Johnstown,  this 
was  evident  at  the  time  when  the  scheme  was  under  dis- 
cussion. The  committee  appeared  before  the  Flood  Com- 
mission at  the  Cresson  meeting,  and  in  the  most  earnest 
and  energetic  manner  combated  the  proposed  plan,  ex- 
pressing what  the  character  of  the  Johnstown  population 
was;  that  it  had  been  an  industrial  community,  largely 
composed  of  the  higher  class  of  skilled  workmen ;  that 
the  people  who  had  lost  their  homes  were  the  owners 


398  PRINCIPLES   OF  BELIEF  PART  iv 

of  those  homes;  had  themselves  erected  them  from  the 
savings  of  their  own  industry  and  thrift;  and  that  it 
would  not  be  less  than  shameful  to  adopt  any  measures 
that  would  discredit  them,  or  tend,  as  a  long-continued 
issue  of  weekly  supplies  would  certainly  tend,  to  pauperize 
them.  After  the  withdrawal  of  the  Finance  Committee 
the  Flood  Commission,  in  executive  session,  decided  to 
make  a  tentative  distribution  of  half  a  million  dollars,  as 
had  been  recommended  by  the  Johnstown  Committee. 

It  is  probable  that  the  administration  of  relief  would 
have  been  more  efficient,  and  that  avoidable  delays  would 
have  been  prevented,  if  from  the  beginning  a  larger  re- 
sponsibility had  been  given  to  those  who  were  upon  the 
ground.  The  idea  embodied  in  the  Flood  Commission 
was  unobjectionable,  if  its  members  could  have  taken  up 
a  temporary  residence  in  Johnstown,  or  if  it  had  limited 
itself  to  the  question  of  a  broad  general  policy,  and  had 
intrusted  a  larger  discretion  to  the  Finance  Committee, 
or  some  other  responsible  local  body.  It  was  clearly  a 
disadvantage  that  the  important  decisions,  even  as  to 
details,  had  to  be  made  by  the  Flood  Commission  which, 
after  Judge  Cummin's  death,  was  represented  at  Johns- 
town only  by  its  secretary ;  and  that  representations  of 
the  Finance  Committee,  and  of  local  committees,  were 
acted  upon  but  tardily,  and  after  what  appeared  to  them 
unwarrantable  and  inexcusable  delays. 

For  the  purposes  of  the  first  distribution  made  by 
the  commission,  the  Conemaugh  Valley  was  divided  into 
eighteen  districts,  each  ward  of  the  city  of  Johnstown 
and  each  of  the  outlying  boroughs  constituting  a  district. 
Blanks  were  prepared  and  the  sufferers  from  the  flood  in 
the  several  districts  each  gave  a  statement  of  the  loss  sus- 
tained, value  of  property  remaining,  and  names  and  ages 
of  dependent  members  of  the  family.  For  each  district 
a  local  committee  was  appointed,  whose  duty  it  was  to 
investigate  these  statements,  and  the  estimate  of  the  dis- 
trict committee  as  to  the  loss  sustained  by  the  family  was 
entered  on  the  blank,  which  was  then  handed  over  to  the 
Board  of  Inquiry.  From  the  data  thus  obtained  the 
board  classified  the  applicants  for  relief.  The  secretary 
of  the  Flood  Commission  reports  that  these  blanks  showed 


CHAP,  ii  GRADUATED   PAYMENTS  399 

evidence  of  conscientious,  careful  work  on  the  part  of 
some  of  the  committees,  and  of  haste  and  carelessness  on 
the  part  of  others.1  The  blanks  did  not  even  furnish  a 
correct  list  of  the  drowned,  as  statements  were  taken  from 
different  members  of  the  family,  and  one  who  had  been  lost 
might  variously  be  described  as  father,  mother,  sister,  or 
brother,  no  clear  and  consistent  statement  having  been  re- 
quired. Eventually,  however,  the  Board  of  Inquiry  com- 
pleted its  list  of  claimants  and  grouped  them  into  classes. 
In  the  first  three  classes  were  placed  those  who  required 
relief,  without  reference  to  the  amount  of  their  property 
loss,  the  most  necessitous  in  Class  I,  and  those  who  would 
require  least  relief,  apart  from  indemnity  for  property 
losses,  in  Class  III,  Class  II  containing  those  who  were 
midway  between  Classes  I  and  III.  In  the  last  three 
classes  were  placed  those  who  were  less  dependent,  who 
had  suffered  from  the  flood,  and  whose  property  losses 
were  considered  in  qualifying  decisions  as  to  the  amount 
of  relief  to  be  granted.  Reimbursement  for  property 
losses  was  not  contemplated,  but  it  was  considered  that 
after  full  provision  had  been  made  for  those  who  were 
absolutely  dependent,  property  losses,  such  as  the  loss  of 
homes,  shops,  stores,  factories,  workshops,  etc.,  might  be 
considered  as  an  element  of  distress,  and  a  ground  for 
relief.  In  this  distribution,  which  amounted  in  the  aggre- 
gate to  $416,472,  no  payments  were  made  to  Class  VI. 
To  the  others  graduated  payments  were  made  as  follows :  — 

To  those  in  Class  I 8  600 

To  those  in  Class  II 400 

To  those  in  Class  III 200 

To  those  in  Class  IV 125 

To  those  in  Class  V 80 

In  making  this  classification  the  Board  of  Inquiry  took 
into  account  the  general  condition  and  circumstances  of 
the  family ;  the  resources,  if  any,  which  were  left  to  them ; 
the  health  of  members  of  the  family;  the  loss  of  wage- 
earners;  the  age  of  the  remaining  breadwinner  and  the 
extent  of  the  losses  sustained  by  the  family.  It  was  de- 

1  Report  of  Flood  Relief  Commission,  p.  41. 


400  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

sired  to  avoid  making  special  cases,  and  to  provide  a 
classification  which  would  fairly  cover  all  cases.  It  was 
hoped  that  donors  and  beneficiaries  would  understand 
that  relief  was  applied  to  all  as  members  of  a  class,  rather 
than  as  individuals,  and  that  each  one  was  placed,  after 
careful  consideration,  in  the  particular  class  of  which  the 
other  members  were  in  the  same  circumstances  as  himself. 
If,  in  a  particular  instance,  some  one  received  a  little  too 
much,  or  another  too  little,  the  class,  as  a  whole,  never- 
theless would  have  been  fairly  treated,  and  no  one  would 
have  a  right  to  complain  of  such  slight  injustice  as 
would  be  an  unavoidable  incident  of  the  operation  of  any 
general  rule.  Definite  standards  were  also  set  for  any  re- 
classification,  and  a  definite  reason  demanded  for  trans- 
ferring a  person  from  one  class  to  another. 

The  commission's  first  distribution  extended  through 
some  six  weeks.  It  was  found  necessary,  on  account  of 
delays  on  the  part  of  some  of  the  claimants,  to  fix  a  date, 
August  3,  after  which  orders  which  had  not  been  presented 
would  be  carried  forward  and  paid  with  the  amount  awarded 
at  the  final  distribution.  It  was  found  that  many  persons, 
after  receiving  the  amount  apportioned  to  them  under  this 
distribution,  were  satisfied,  and  made  no  further  demands. 
A  few  orders  were  issued,  and  payments  made  to  persons 
who  later  were  found  not  to  have  been  entitled  to  help. 
In  some  cases  these  amounts  were  refunded,  but  in  one 
case,  to  which  reference  is  made  by  the  secretary,  it  was 
not  possible  to  recover  the  amount.1 

On  September  13  an  appropriation  of  $1,600,000  was 
made  for  the  final  distribution.  This  distribution  was 
made  on  the  basis  recommended  by  the  Finance  Commit- 
tee of  Johnstown,  a  fixed  average  sum  being  paid  to  each 
person  in  the  first  three  classes,  and  a  percentage  of  losses 
in  varying  proportions  to  those  in  the  last  three  classes. 
It  was  at  first  estimated  that  there  could  be  paid  to  per- 
sons in  Class  I  an  average  of  $1200,  in  Class  II,  $900, 
and  in  Class  III,  $500,  and  that  to  persons  in  Class  IV 
an  average  of  30  per  cent  of  their  losses  could  be  reim- 
bursed, and  in  Class  V  an  average  of  10  per  cent.  This 
scheme  was  drawn  up  by  Cyrus  Elder  and  John  H.  Brown, 
1  Report  of  Flood  Relief  Commission,  p.  43. 


CHAP,  ii  THE  FINAL  DISTRIBUTION  401 

a  special  committee  appointed  jointly  by  the  Finance  Com- 
mittee and  the  Board  of  Inquiry  for  the  express  purpose 
of  preparing  a  statement  of  the  principle  which  should 
govern  the  final  distribution  of  the  fund  for  the  relief  of 
flood  sufferers,  and  their  report  was  adopted  by  Francis 
B.  Reeves  and  Robert  C.  Ogden,  a  committee  of  the  Flood 
Commission.  This  statement,  after  suggesting  that  the 
amount  distributed  to  persons  in  Class  I  be  fixed  at  $1200, 
proposed  further,  "that  this  be  not  a  uniform  rate,  but 
that  a  certain  definite  sum  be  paid,  for  example,  to  the 
dependent  widow  who  has  lost  her  husband  by  the  flood, 
and  a  further  sum  for  each  child  under  the  age  of  sixteen 
years,  the  latter  sum  to  vary  in  accordance  with  the  age 
of  the  child,  the  total  in  all  cases  to  be  paid  to  the  mother, 
except  in  those  few  instances  which  might  exist  where  she 
is  known  to  be  unfit  or  incapable  of  discharging  the  trust. 
The  allotment  to  orphans  having  no  parent  was  to  be  paid 
into  the  Johnstown  Savings  Bank,  subject  to  the  order  of 
a  legally  appointed  guardian  approved  by  a  joint  commit- 
tee of  the  local  Finance  Committee  and  the  Board  of  In- 
quiry." The  second  class  consisted  mainly  of  widows 
without  dependents,  or  with  families  who  were  helpful 
rather  than  a  burden,  and  the  third  class  of  women  not 
made  widows  by  the  flood,  who  had  incurred  small  prop- 
erty loss,  but  who  were  capable  of  self-support.  The 
$500  allotted  to  them  might,  it  was  thought,  serve  as  the 
capital  for  some  small  business. 

At  a  meeting  of  the  commission  on  October  22  the 
instructions  for  distribution  were  somewhat  modified,  al- 
though payments  to  widows  had  begun  on  the  plan  pre- 
viously adopted  on  October  9,  and  it  was  determined  that 
when  property  losses  were  considered,  to  persons  in  the 
more  dependent  class  should  be  given  the  following  sums:— 

To  those  whose  losses  were  not  exceeding  $ 500,  not  more 
than  $400. 

To  those  whose  losses  were  over  $500,  and  not  exceeding 
$1000,  not  more  than  $600. 

To  those  whose  losses  were  over  $1000  and  not  exceed- 
ing $2000,  not  more  than  $800. 

To  those  whose  losses  were  over  $2000,  a  pro-rata  pro- 
portion of  the  amount  remaining  of  the  appropriation 

2D 


402  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

made  to  the  class,  but  no  person  to  receive  more  than 
$6000. 

To  those  in  the  less  dependent  classes  were  to  be  paid  :  — 

To  those  whose  losses  were  not  exceeding  $500,  not 
more  than  1200. 

To  those  whose  losses  were  over  $500,  and  not  exceed- 
ing $1000,  not  more  than  $350. 

To  those  whose  losses  were  over  $1000,  a  pro-rata  pro- 
portion of  the  amount  remaining  of  the  appropriation 
made  to  the  class,  but  no  person  to  receive  more  than 
$2500. 

Among  the  unpublished  documents  which  reveal  the 
difficulties  in  carrying  into  execution  the  plans  decided 
upon  by  the  Flood  Commission,  the  Board  of  Inquiry 
and  the  Finance  Committee,  is  a  very  interesting  letter 
written  by  the  secretary  of  the  Finance  Committee  on 
October  21,  protesting  vigorously  against  the  exercise  of 
personal  discretion  on  the  part  of  the  secretary  of  the 
commission  in  altering  awards  made  by  the  Board  of 
Inquiry  without  consultation  with  the  board.  In  this 
letter  the  principle  is  most  clearly  enunciated  and  fully 
amplified,  that  general  rules  must  be  laid  down  by  the 
Flood  Commission,  and  that  no  employee  should  be  al- 
lowed to  adopt  new  principles  of  classification  or  to  make 
special  cases  ;  that,  on  the  contrary,  it  was  the  function 
of  the  executive  to  see  that  the  principles  laid  down  by 
the  Flood  Commission  were  correctly  applied,  and  to 
bring  to  their  notice  any  error  or  oversight  that  might 
be  discovered.  The  necessity  of  avoiding  even  the  possi- 
bility of  scandals  and  of  the  introduction  of  the  element 
of  favoritism  was  insisted  upon,  and  the  great  advantage 
of  a  simple  method  of  distribution  as  nearly  as  possible 
reduced  to  a  mere  arithmetical  computation.  This,  of 
course,  assumed  that  the  classification,  and  any  necessary 
reclassification  of  individual  claimants,  had  been  consci- 
entiously and  accurately  made.  The  writer  of  this  letter 
incorporated  another  eloquent  plea  for  immediate  distri- 
bution. "The  end  of  delays,"  he  says,  "has  now  been 
reached.  A  single  day,  or  a  single  hour's  delay  is  now 
unjustifiable,  and  the  payment  of  the  fund  must  begin."  l 
1  Cyrus  Elder  to  John  H.  Brown. 


CHAP,  ii  UNIFORMITY  IN  APPROPRIATIONS  403 

The  last  regular  payments  in  the  final  distribution  were 
made  on  November  14,  although  in  special  instances  the 
cheeks  were  issued  at  later  dates.  Payment  having  been 
completed,  another  review  of  all  the  claimants  was  made, 
with  a  view  of  equalizing  the  amounts  given  to  sufferers 
under  like  circumstances,  and  additional  checks  were  sent 
to  a  number  of  persons. 

In  the  final  distribution  the  average  amount  paid  to 
widows  was  about  $1500.  The  number  of  women  made 
widows  by  the  flood  was  124,  and  the  amount  received  by 
them  was  $183,281,  in  addition  to  which  there  was  set 
aside  for  their  children  a  sum  which  amounted  to  $108,500. 
For  the  care  of  children  made  orphans  by  the  flood,  it  was 
decided  to  make  an  arrangement  with  the  Girard  Life 
Insurance  and  Annuity  Company  of  Philadelphia,  by 
which  they  agreed  to  allow  interest  compounded  annually, 
and  received  a  sum  which,  with  these  accretions,  would 
permit  to  be  paid  to  each  orphan  the  sum  of  $50  annually 
until  the  age  of  sixteen,  these  payments  being  made  through 
the  First  National  Bank  of  Johnstown.  The  amount  re- 
quired for  this  purpose  was  $119,616. 88.1 

In  this  account  of  the  relief  work  at  Johnstown  no 
adequate  reference  has  been  made  to  the  aid  rendered  by 
special  agencies,  such  as  the  Red  Cross,  the  Children's  Aid 
Society  of  Western  Pennsylvania,  the  Grand  Army  of  the 
Republic,  and  others  whose  participation  was  less  con- 
spicuous. The  writer  has  wished  to  set  forth  rather  those 
who  were  primarily  responsible  for  relief  and  for  adminis- 
tration, and  to  avoid  the  confusion  which  would  result 
from  attempting  to  apportion  to  the  various  voluntary 
agencies  complete  credit  for  the  assistance  which  each 
rendered.  In  any  similar  situation  which,  unfortunately, 
may  arise  in  the  future,  it  is  not  the  part  taken  by  these 
auxiliary  agencies,  important  as  they  are,  that  it  will  be  of 
primary  importance  to  understand,  but  the  plans  devised, 
the  methods  employed,  the  mistakes  made,  and  the  diffi- 
culties overcome  by  such  bodies  as  the  Flood  Commission, 
the  Finance  Committee,  the  Board  of  Inquiry,  and  the 
informally  constituted  town-meeting  which  assembled  in 
bewilderment  and  sorrow  on  the  day  following  the  flood. 
1  Report  of  Flood  Relief  Commission,  p,  45, 


404 


PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF 


PART  IV 


The  commission  received  the  following  sums :  — 

Contributions  through  Governor  Beaver          .         .         .  $1,236,146.45 
Through  the  Permanent  Relief  Committee  of   Phila- 
delphia        600,000.00 

Through  the  Pittsburg  Relief  Committee       .         .         .        560,000.00 

Through  the  New  York  Relief  Committee     .        .        .       510,199.85 

Total $2,906,346.30 

The  total  cash  contributions  disbursed  by  the  commis- 
sion and  by  other  relief  agencies,  so  far  as  the  secretary 
of  the  commission  had  obtained  information  at  the  time  of 
his  report,  June  23, 1890,  amounted  to  14,116,801.48. 

The  commission  expended  for  the  relief  of  those  who 
had  suffered  from  floods  in  the  state  of  Pennsylvania,  else- 
where than  in  the  Conemaugh  Valley,  $246,475.26,  and 
for  sufferers  in  the  Conemaugh  Valley,  including  expense 
of  distribution,  §2,592,936.68.  The  itemized  statement 
of  expenditures  in  the  Conemaugh  Valley  is  given  by  the 
auditors  of  the  commission  as  follows :  — 

For  supplies $61,533.86 

For  labor 43,931.11 

For  buildings,  rent  and  labor  on  buildings      .         .         .  179,033.87 
For  burial  of  the  dead  and  for  the  removal  of  the  dead 
to  "  Grand  View,"  including  the  purchase  of  the 
plot  and  the  appropriations  made  for  improving  the 

ground  and  for  purchasing  headstones     .        .  30,485.41 

For  the  transportation  of  flood  sufferers          .        .  17,176.16 

For  freight,  express  charges,  and  telegrams    .         .  10,128.14 

For  printing  and  stationery      .....  694.01 

Expenses  of  offices  at  Johnstown     ....  7,774.00 

Attorney's  fees 98.97 

Expenses  of  the  First  National  Bank,  Johnstown,  con 

nected  with  the  distributions    ....  750.42 

Special  sums  as  designated  by  the  donors        .        .  2,071.85 
Distribution  of  sums  specially  appropriated  by  the  Com 

mission 2,675.00 

Paid  to  committee  the  amount  appropriated  for  a  hos- 
pital    40,000.00 

Paid  to  committee  the   amount    appropriated  as    an 

"Orphan  Fund" 119,616.88 

Cash,  "  First  Distribution " 416,472.00 

Cash,  "  Final  Distribution  " 1,660,495.00 

Total  expenditures  in  the  Conemaugh  Valley  .  $2,592,936.68 


CHAPTER  III 

FIEE  AND  FLOOD  IN  PATBESON 

IN  Paterson,  New  Jersey,  in  February  and  March,  1902, 
with  an  interval  of  less  than  a  month,  occurred  two  of  the 
most  serious  disasters  which  any  of  the  smaller  cities  has 
been  called  upon  to  face.  The  first  of  these  was  a  fire 
which  destroyed  the  principal  business  district  of  the  city, 
including  banks,  stores,  library  and  municipal  offices,  and 
several  blocks  of  the  residence  district  of  the  working 
people.  The  weight  of  this  calamity  fell  upon  some  six 
hundred  families  who  were  neither  in  prosperous  nor  in 
straitened  circumstances.  Before  the  life  of  the  com- 
munity had  resumed  its  normal  character  an  unprece- 
dented freshet  in  the  Passaic  River  flooded  the  city,  greatly 
damaging  the  mills,  costing  a  loss  of  several  lives,  and 
throwing  several  thousand  people  temporarily  out  of 
employment. 

On  the  initiative  of  the  Rev.  David  Stuart  Hamilton, 
rector  of  St.  Paul's  Protestant  Episcopal  Church,  a  citi- 
zens' meeting  was  held,  at  which  a  fire  relief  committee 
was  organized  with  Mr.  Hamilton  as  chairman,  and  it 
was  understood  that  the  Charity  League,  a  small  society 
which  was  the  forerunner  of  the  Charity  Organization 
Society  formed  a  year  after  the  fire,  would  also  cooperate. 
At  the  meeting  of  citizens  it  was  decided  that  relief  funds 
should  be  concentrated,  and  an  appeal  was  made  in  the 
name  of  the  Central  Relief  Committee.  A  fund  of 
$34,217.58  was  raised  from  citizens  of  Paterson.  The 
offer  of  a  New  York  newspaper  to  establish  and  maintain 
a  relief  station  was  declined,  with  all  other  offers  of  out- 
side assistance,  of  which  several  were  received. 

An  indication  of  the  confusion  and  lack  of  appreciation 
of  the  real  situation,  which  are  not  unusual  in  emergen- 
cies of  this  kind,  was  the  sending  of  several  quarts  of 

405 


406  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

milk  and  large  quantities  of  bread  to  the  armory,  to  the 
embarrassment  of  the  committee  responsible  for  their  dis- 
tribution, in  view  of  the  fact  that  only  twelve  persons 
came  to  that  building  for  shelter.  With  the  exception 
of  these  twelve  and  a  few  who  were  taken  to  hospitals 
and  other  public  institutions,  all  of  the  burned-out  fami- 
lies were  received,  so  far  as  immediate  shelter  was  con- 
cerned, into  the  homes  of  their  friends  and  neighbors. 
It  was  estimated  that  two  thousand  individuals  were 
made  homeless.  The  district  in  which  the  houses  that 
were  burned  were  located  included  several  blocks  of  small 
wooden  houses  closely  built,  and  in  some  parts  thickly 
populated.  They  were  occupied  by  American,  German, 
Irish,  Italian,  and  Polish  families,  most  of  whom  worked 
in  the  silk-mills  and  dye-houses.  There  were  also  some 
small  traders,  —  fruit  dealers,  tailors,  barbers,  etc.  For 
the  most  part  they  were  hard-working,  respectable  people, 
living  under  fairly  comfortable  conditions,  but  there  were 
few  who  had  insurance  or  even  modest  bank  accounts. 

On  the  morning  following  the  fire  St.  Paul's  Parish 
House,  which  had  been  designated  as  a  relief  station,  was 
filled  with  victims  of  the  disaster  and  with  workers  of  the 
committee.  The  burned-out  families  who  had  not  re- 
quired shelter  soon  began  to  realize  that  they  did  require 
nearly  everything  else.  Rows  of  dejected  families  sat 
along  the  walls  of  the  parish  room,  and  pitiful  stories, 
often  in  unintelligible  English,  were  poured  into  the  ears 
of  the  members  of  the  committee.  There  was  little  op- 
portunity for  consideration,  and  only  gradually  was  a 
system  of  looking  into  the  needs  of  applicants  worked 
out.  At  the  beginning  the  distribution  of  clothing  occu- 
pied the  chief  attention  of  the  committee.  On  a  blank 
prepared  for  the  purpose  the  name  of  each  applicant  was 
taken  down  with  the  address,  occupation,  etc.  Detectives 
were  employed  to  expose  any  fraudulent  claims.  While 
an  investigation  was  being  made,  the  applicant  was  sent 
to  secure  rooms,  the  committee  promising  to  pay  rent  for 
a  month  or  a  half  month  as  seemed  necessary.  When  an 
entry  of  this  action  and  of  the  inquiry  had  been  made 
the  record  passed  to  the  chairman  of  the  Charity  League's 
committee  for  signature.  Her  assistant  stamped  and 


CHAP,  in  RELIEF  ORDERS  407 

numbered  the  record,  wrote  out  the  relief  orders,  and 
finally  filed  and  indexed  the  record  for  reference.  The 
following  is  a  typical  order  for  a  family  consisting  of  man 
and  wife  (without  children),  who  had  lost  all  their  pos- 
sessions. 

I.    Order  for  rent  for  one  month,  $8. 

II.  Order   for   furniture   to   include  one  double   bed, 
spring  and  mattress,   one  pair  of   double   blankets,   one 
comfortable,  two  pillows,  one  kitchen  table,  two  chairs, 
one  rocking  chair,  one  oilcloth  (for  table),  one  chest  of 
drawers,  one  small  mirror,  two  window-shades. 

III.  For  one  cooking  stove. 

IV.  For  one-half  ton  of  coal. 

V.    For  groceries  to  the  amount  of  $1.50. 
VI.    For  meat  to  the  amount  of  $2. 

VII.  For  crockery  and  kitchen  utensils;  also  for  one 
lamp,  clock,  and  laundry  articles. 

VIII.  For  four   sheets  and  four  pillow-cases.      Four 
sets   of   underclothing.       For   woman's   clothing   to   the 
amount  of  $5.     For  man's  suit  of  clothes  and  hat  to  the 
amount  of  $10.     For  two  pairs  of  shoes. 

Arrangements  were  made  with  various  dealers  to  honor 
these  orders,  and  the  relief  trade  was  distributed  as  widely 
as  possible.  This  distribution  of  the  trade  was  appreci- 
ated by  merchants,  but  was  the  cause  of  considerable 
additional  trouble  for  the  committee.  The  variety  in  the 
articles  supplied  by  various  dealers,  and  the  difference  in 
quality  and  in  price,  gave  rise  to  no  little  ill  feeling,  and 
the  clamorous  complaints  made  by  some  families  who  felt 
themselves  aggrieved,  and  who  were  accompanied  in  their 
visits  of  complaint  by  all  their  relatives  and  friends,  intro- 
duced an  element  of  embarrassment  which,  although 
trifling  in  itself,  is  an  illustration  of  the  endless  compli- 
cations against  which  committees  in  undertaking  relief 
work  of  this  kind  should  provide.  Relief  orders  were 
given  out  from  the  parish  house  in  this  manner  for  about 
three  weeks,  at  the  end  of  which  time  a  complete  change 
of  method  was  made,  the  territory  covered  by  the  fire 
being  divided  into  districts  and  a  chairman  appointed  for 
each  district.  Each  chairman  was  expected,  as  intelli- 
gently as  possible  and  with  close  personal  oversight,  to 


408  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  IT 

supply  all  of  the  needs  of  the  families.  The  amount 
spent  upon  any  one  family,  unless  there  were  exceptional 
features,  was  not  to  exceed  $50.  At  the  end  of  another 
fortnight  the  district  chairmen  reported  their  families  in 
general  able  to  care  for  themselves,  and  asked  for  their 
own  dismissal. 

On  the  very  day  following  this  welcome  request  came 
the  disastrous  flood  to  which  reference  has  been  made. 
The  fire  committee  was  transformed  into  a  flood  relief 
committee,  and  the  centre  of  operations  was  transferred 
from  the  parish  house  to  the  armory.  The  methods 
which  had  been  employed  were  continued  except  that  all 
investigations  were  now  made  by  a  man  employed  for 
that  purpose.  The  victims  of  the  flood  included  a  large 
element  of  Negroes,  Italians,  and  Polish  Jews,  in  much 
less  favorable  economic  circumstances,  and  concerning 
whom  it  was  more  difficult  to  secure  reliable  information 
than  in  the  case  of  those  who  had  suffered  from  the  fire. 
For  nearly  a  week  several  hundred  persons  were  housed 
in  the  armory,  but  at  the  end  of  that  time  they  returned 
to  their  homes,  which,  when  they  were  driven  out,  had 
been  from  three  to  eight  feet  under  water.  The  assist- 
ance given  was  mainly  in  clothing,  floor  covering,  and 
coal,  and  in  restocking  small  business  enterprises.  There 
were  a  few  families  that  encountered  both  disasters.  The 
expenditures  for  emergency  relief  from  February  12  to 
April  21,  1902,  were  as  follows :  — 

Shoes $797.28 

China  and  glass  ware 1828.24 

Coal  and  wood      .        .        .  1073.36 


Dry  goods  and  clothing 
Groceries  and  drugs 
Rents  and  board   . 

Stores,  etc 

Furniture,  carpets,  and  sewing-machines 


Wages  and  incidentals . 
Relief  given  in  cash 


4480.28 
1597.82 
2536.00 
2837.43 
9811.05 
300.08 
8956.09 
Total 134,217.63 

Shortly  after  these  trying  experiences  in  Paterson  in 
emergency  relief  there  was  formed  a  charity  organization 
society.  At  the  very  outset  the  efficiency  of  the  new 
society  was  put  to  a  severe  test  by  a  third  disaster  similar 


THE   TWO   FLOODS  409 


to  the  second  of  those  already  described.  The  second 
flood  was  occasioned  by  a  fall  of  fifteen  inches  of  rain  on 
October  8  and  9, 1903,  as  a  result  of  which  about  500  per- 
sons needed  to  be  sheltered  and  fed  for  several  days,  and 
over  800  families  required  subsequent  assistance.  The 
first  step  in  the  relief  of  the  flood  sufferers  was  a  state- 
ment issued  by  the  mayor,  turning  over  to  the  Charity 
Organization  Society  the  responsibility  for  relief,  after  a 
conference,  at  which  the  Rev.  David  Stuart  Hamilton, 
who  had  been  chairman  of  the  Fire  and  Flood  Commit- 
tee of  1902,  and  Otto  W.  Davis,  secretary  of  the  Charity 
Organization  Society,  were  present.  In  Apollo  Hall,  which 
was  opened  for  the  refugees  on  the  first  night,  there  were 
sheltered  and  fed  between  400  and  500  persons.  On  the 
following  day,  when  it  was  apparent  that  the  hall  would 
not  be  large  enough  for  the  purpose,  the  armory  was 
secured  by  authority  of  the  governor.  Officers  and  mem- 
bers of  the  Fifth  Regiment  rendered  valuable  assistance 
in  handling  the  tumultuous  crowd,  composed  chiefly  of 
excited  foreigners.  About  500  were  accommodated  in 
the  armory  for  several  days,  but  at  the  end  of  a  week 
the  numbers  had  decreased  sufficiently  to  permit  the 
armory  to  be  closed,  and  the  few  remaining  families  were 
temporarily  housed  elsewhere  until  they  found  a  place  to 
begin  housekeeping.  The  work  of  giving  relief  to  fami- 
lies in  their  homes  was,  from  the  beginning,  separated 
from  the  work  of  providing  food  and  shelter  for  the 
homeless,  and  the  former  was  placed  under  the  immediate 
care  of  the  agent  of  the  society. 

In  the  week  following  the  flood  about  800  applications 
were  received  at  the  office.  Friends  of  the  society,  in- 
cluding some  of  those  who  had  had  experience  in  the 
former  relief  work,  gave  the  agent  their  cordial  support 
and  assistance.  The  statements  of  the  applicants  were 
taken,  and  each  application  was  investigated  before  aid 
was  granted  other  than  that  which  they  might  secure  at 
the  armory.  As  there  were  no  trained  investigators  it 
was  attempted  to  do  this  work  with  the  assistance  of  a 
number  of  collectors  in  the  service  of  the  Gas  Company, 
who  were  idle  on  account  of  the  flood  and  whose  services 
the  company  kindly  offered.  Although  these  men  showed 


410  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

every  disposition  to  give  the  best  assistance  in  their  power 
their  chief  service  was  to  demonstrate  the  need  of  trained 
investigators.  When  the  committee  attempted  to  decide 
from  their  reports  what  relief  should  be  granted,  they  were 
really  unable  to  do  so,  the  collectors  having  been  unable  to 
see  the  essential  facts  or  properly  to  record  them.  Three 
trained  visitors  were  then  secured  from  the  organized 
charities  and  with  their  assistance  the  relief  was  im- 
mediately placed  upon  a  better  basis. 

A  large  Hebrew  population  was  affected  by  the  flood, 
and  the  Hebrews  appointed  a  special  committee  to  assist  in 
raising  funds,  and  also  placed  at  the  disposal  of  the  society 
an  intelligent  man  to  assist  in  investigating  among  their 
own  people.  The  work  of  raising  funds  was  intrusted 
to  a  special  finance  committee  composed  of  representative 
business  men.  The  newspapers  opened  subscription  lists. 
No  general  outside  appeal  was  made,  although  this  was 
discussed.  Instead  of  this  business  men  of  the  city  were 
requested  to  send  to  other  business  firms  outside,  with 
whom  they  had  dealings  and  who  might  be  expected  to 
have  special  interest  in  the  welfare  of  Paterson,  a  request 
for  a  contribution.  In  this  way  a  considerable  sum  of 
money  was  realized,  the  final  amount  from  all  sources 
being  $22,894.26.  The  president  of  the  society,  James 
W.  Cooke,  gave  all  his  time  for  two  weeks  to  the  direc- 
tion of  the  relief  work.  At  first  the  plan  followed  the 
year  before  —  of  giving  orders  for  specified  articles  of  fur- 
niture, clothing,  etc.  — was  tried,  but  it  was  soon  discov- 
ered that  some  of  the  people  affected  by  the  flood  would 
be  able  to  make  the  same  amount  of  money  go  farther  than 
the  representatives  of  the  society.  They  could,  for  exam- 
ple, buy  a  second-hand  stove  for  one-third  of  what  the 
society  would  have  to  pay  for  a  new  one,  and  with  a  sec- 
ond-hand stove  they  were  as  well  off  as  before  the  flood. 
The  ordering  of  specified  articles  was,  accordingly,  given 
up,  except  where  it  was  thought  that  money  would  not 
be  spent  properly,  and  $15,000,  out  of  a  total  of  $19,000 
disbursed  in  relief,  was  given  in  cash.  The  following 
is  a  complete  statement  of  disbursements.  The  balance 
of  $2500  was  deposited  in  a  Trust  Company  for  use  in 
future  emergency  relief  work. 


CHAP,  iii  CHANGES   IN   METHODS  411 

House  furnishings,  including  clothing  and  shoes      .         .  $3,167.83 

Emergency  relief  at  armory 713.48 

Cash  payments  to  flood  sufferers 15,450.51 

Orders  for  coal  and  groceries  and  sundries        .         .        .  329.10 

Administration  account 718.06 

Balance  in  bank 2,515.28 

$22,894.26 

Aside  from  the  temporary  shelter  of  homeless  persons, 
the  total  number  of  applications  received  was  859,  of  which 
716  were  from  families,  eighty-seven  from  single  men,  and 
fifty-six  from  women  living  alone.  Relief  in  the  form  of 
cash  was  given  to  640  families ;  clothing  and  groceries 
only  to  thirty-six  families.  Loans  were  made  in  five  in- 
stances, cash  relief  having  also  been  supplied  in  two  of  these. 
One  hundred  and  eighty  applications  were  rejected. 


CHAPTER  IV 

INDUSTRIAL   DISTRESS  IN  NEW  YORK  AND  INDIANAPOLIS, 
WINTER  OF   1893-1894 

ELSEWHERE  in  this  volume  industrial  displacement  has 
been  discussed  as  a  cause  of  distress  under  ordinary  eco- 
nomic conditions.  The  hard  times  accompanying  and 
succeeding  periods  of  commercial  and  industrial  depres- 
sion not  infrequently  present  an  emergency  relief  problem 
comparable  to  those  experienced  after  disasters  of  fire  and 
flood.  There  are,  of  course,  certain  particulars  in  which 
distress  due  to  hard  times  resembles  ordinary  dependence, 
due  to  illness  or  personal  misfortune,  rather  than  that 
which  results  from  extraordinary  disasters.  It  can  be 
predicted  with  reasonable  certainty  that  within  the  life 
history  of  the  individual  more  than  one  economic  cycle  is 
likely  to  be  completed  with  its  recurrence  of  prosperity, 
inflation  crisis,  depression,  and  slow  recovery.  But,  inas- 
much as  such  a  degree  of  foresight  is  not  always  found 
even  among  business  men,  it  is  not  surprising  that 
industrial  depression  does,  in  fact,  find  the  mass  of  the 
working  people  quite  unprepared.  Those  who  are  thrown 
out  of  employment  and  have  no  adequate  reserve  savings 
are  in  very  much  the  position  of  such  as  have  suddenly 
lost  their  homes  and  their  employment  as  a  result  of  hurri- 
cane, flood,  or  fire.  The  chief  manufacturing  centres  of 
the  United  States  passed  through  such  a  period  of  excep- 
tional distress  in  the  winter  of  1893-94. 

As  typical  of  the  most  effective  methods  of  dealing  with 
such  situations  we  may  consider  the  East  Side  Relief  Work 
Committee  of  New  York  City  and  the  Commercial  Club 
Relief  Committee  of  Indianapolis.  The  former  worked 
in  the  heart  of  the  tenement-house  population  of  the 
most  populous  city,  the  latter  in  a  representative  Western 

412 


CHAP,  iv  THE  NEW  YORK  COMMITTEE  413 

city  of  moderate  size.  One  expended  $118,000,  the  other 
118,000,  Both  were  fortunate  in  the  executive  capacity 
of  their  organizers  and  in  having  early  reached  a  position 
of  substantial  control  of  the  situation.  In  both  instances 
there  is  available  a  carefully  prepared  statement  of  the 
essential  features  of  the  relief  measures  undertaken  by 
the  committee,  the  former  having  been  contributed  to  the 
Charities  Review  for  May,  1894,  by  Mrs.  Charles  Russell 
Lowell,  and  the  latter  having  been  embodied  in  a  report 
of  the  committee,  of  which  H.  H.  Hanna  was  chairman. 

The  East  Side  Relief  Work  Committee  was  organized 
as  a  temporary  body  to  relieve  temporary  physical  distress, 
but  its  members  were,  with  few  exceptions,  representatives 
of  permanent  bodies  organized  to  do  permanent  moral  and 
spiritual  work  in  the  same  locality,  and  in  this  fact  Mrs. 
Lowell  finds  the  special  value  of  the  committee  as  a  relief 
agency.1  The  committee  included  two  churches,  two 
chapels,  two  settlements,  two  educational  agencies,  a  con- 
ference of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  and  a  district 
committee  of  the  Charity  Organization  Society.  All  but 
two  of  these  were  situated  between  East  Broadway  and 
Eighth  Street,  east  of  the  Bowery,  j  Residents  from  other 
parts  of  the  city  later  joined  the  committee,  but  the  organ- 
ization continued  local.  A  contribution  of  $1000  from 
Hon.  Seth  Low,  President  of  Columbia  College,  enabled 
the  committee  to  make  all  its  preliminary  arrangements 
before  publishing  any  appeal  for  funds,  and  on  December 
21  a  meeting  was  called  at  which  three  committees  were 
appointed  to  assume  the  financial  burden. 

The  East  Side  Relief  Work  Committee  was  to  be  left 
free  to  carry  out  its  plans  without  being  trammelled  by 
considerations  of  ways  and  means.  Even  as  the  work 
progressed  further  the  committee  refrained  from  advertis- 
ing its  plans,  but  supplied  work  tickets  to  trade-unions, 
churches,  etc.,  who  were  requested  to  give  them  to  persons 
known  to  them  to  be  heads  of  families  in  need  of  relief. 
By  this  means  the  attracting  of  unmanageable  crowds  and 
the  raising  of  false  hopes  were  largely  obviated.  No  food 

1  Charities  Review,  Volume  III,  p.  323.  The  subsequent  statement  is 
condensed  from  Mrs.  Lowell's  account. 


414  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

stations  were  opened,  and  the  committee  did  not  assume 
responsibility  for  general  relief  but  only  for  giving  employ- 
ment to  able-bodied  men  and  women,  chiefly  the  former. 
After  consultation  with  the  street-cleaning  commissioner, 
who  stated  that  the  appropriation  allowed  to  his  depart- 
ment was  not  sufficient  to  enable  him  to  apply  the  "  block 
system  "  of  cleaning  to  the  streets  in  the  tenement-house 
districts  of  the  East  Side,  it  was  decided  to  put  men  at 
street  sweeping  at  one  dollar  a  day  for  seven  hours'  work. 
The  commissioner  promised  that  no  man  should  be  laid 
off  from  the  regular  street-cleaning  force  because  of  this 
extra  supply  of  sweepers,  and  also  agreed  to  have  all  street 
sweepings  removed  by  city  carts.  The  funds  of  the  com- 
mittee were,  therefore,  devoted  to  the  payment  of  wages, 
no  other  expense  falling  upon  the  committee  except  for 
brooms  and  for  supervision. 

At  the  maximum  the  number  of  men  employed  in  street 
cleaning  was  887,  including  25  foremen,  seven  clerks,  and 
one  superintendent.  Between  November  30,  1893,  and 
April  30, 1894,  the  committee  paid  at  the  rate  of  one  dollar 
a  day  for  57,049J  days'  work.  At  least  3290  different 
men  were  employed  in  this  period.  Each  man  had  a  certain 
section  to  keep  clean  —  in  some  cases  one  block,  in  others 
two  —  and  he  was  required  to  do  his  work  as  thoroughly 
and  faithfully  as  if  he  had  been  working  for  a  private 
employer.  Each  of  the  seven  districts  was  subdivided 
into  three  or  four  sections  with  a  foreman  for  each  section. 
Each  foreman  superintended  about  thirty  men  and  made 
from  five  to  seven  rounds  per  day. 

From  a  census  of  the  previous  occupations  of  681  men 
who  were  working  on  the  streets  on  February  21,  it  was 
found  that  nearly  every  trade  was  represented.  Only  one- 
fourth  of  the  men  were  unskilled  laborers  who  would,  in 
ordinary  times,  do  outdoor  work.  The  rest  were  men  with 
special  trades. 

A  second  form  of  employment  was  necessary  to  relieve 
the  distress  among  those  usually  employed  in  the  clothing 
trades.  In  order  to  meet  their  needs  four  tailor  shops  were 
opened,  the  product  at  first  being  used  for  the  relief  of 
the  cyclone  sufferers  of  South  Carolina,  partly  in  order  to 
avoid  any  possible  interference  with  what  remained  of  the 


CHAP,  iv  EMPLOYMENT  NOT  RELIEF  415 

regular  tailoring  trade.  Sixty  to  seventy  cents  a  day  was 
paid  in  these  shops  for  eight  hours'  work,  and,  in  addition, 
a  lunch  of  coffee  and  bread  was  supplied  at  the  noon  hour. 
The  first  shop  was  opened  on  December  4,  with  four  men, 
and  it  was  filled  to  its  utmost  capacity  before  December 
20.  Between  the  latter  date  and  January  12,  three  addi- 
tional shops  were  opened,  and  at  the  maximum  220  tailors 
and  about  thirty  women  were  employed.  Later  the  pay 
was  raised  to  four  dollars  for  five  days'  work,  the  shops 
being  closed  on  Saturday  as  well  as  Sunday  for  the  reason 
that  nearly  all  of  the  beneficiaries  were  Hebrews.  Tickets 
were  distributed  by  eleven  of  the  unions  of  the  clothing 
trade,  eleven  societies  and  churches,  and  a  few  individuals. 
In  all  about  1000  individuals  were  given  work,  none  for 
less  than  one  week,  many  for  six  or  eight  weeks. 

Of  the  708  men  and  94  women  employed  after  January 
25,  there  were  sixty-two  who  were  single  and  without  de- 
pendents, these  being  discharged  at  the  expiration  of  one 
week.  The  remainder  had  2775  dependents  to  support 
besides  earning  their  own  living.  It  was  found  that 
among  those  who  were  employed  in  the  tailor  shops  162 
had  been  more  than  ten  years  in  America,  234  more  than 
five  and  less  than  ten  years,  and  only  fifty-four  one  year 
or  less.  At  the  time  when  they  began  to  work  in  the 
shops  of  the  committee,  166  had  been  out  of  work  more 
than  nine  months,  382  more  than  six  months  and  less  than 
nine,  and  only  eight  so  short  a  time  as  o"ne  month.  Among 
them  were  eleven  men  whose  regular  wages  had  been  $20 
a  week,  239  who  usually  received  from  $12  to  $18  a  week, 
and  only  seventy-four  whose  regular  wages  were  five 
dollars  or  less. 

Besides  the  work  done  in  the  tailor  shops,  sewing  and 
knitting,  and  mat  and  quilt  making  was  furnished  to  women 
in  their  homes.  Four  hundred  and  thirty-three  individ- 
uals were  employed  in  this  manner,  an  average  of  122 
being  at  work  for  a  period  of  sixteen  weeks.  As  in  the 
case  of  the  shops,  this  work  was  given  only  to  holders  of 
tickets,  and  the  tickets  were  distributed  by  twenty-nine 
churches,  seven  societies,  and  thirteen  individuals. 

After  February  8  shipments  to  Charleston  were  discon- 
tinued and  the  product  of  the  shops  and  of  the  women's 


416  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

sewing  was  given  to  the  various  societies  and  churches  for 
distribution.  Thirty-three  hundred  and  eighty-five  gar- 
ments—  men's  and  boys'  clothing — had  been  sent  to  the 
South,  and  in  the  three  months  from  February  to  April  in- 
clusive 13,261  articles,  including  men's  and  boys'  overcoats, 
suits  and  shirts,  girls'  and  women's  dresses,  etc.,  were  sent 
to  thirty-seven  different  churches  and  societies.  Twenty- 
two  tailors  were  employed  for  three  weeks  after  the  shops 
were  closed  to  finish  material  already  cut. 

Toward  the  end  of  January,  the  pressure  for  work  tickets 
having  constantly  increased,  a  new,  and  as  it  proved,  very 
useful  branch  of  work  was  undertaken,  viz.,  the  white- 
washing of  tenement-houses.  The  president  of  the  board 
of  health  on  February  12  addressed  a  letter  to  the  sani- 
tation bureau  of  the  committee  strongly  commending  the 
plan,  and  suggesting  the  application  of  a  coat  of  lime  to 
the  surface  of  rooms,  halls,  courts,  alleys,  and  halls  of 
tenement-houses,  and  especially  to  the  walls  and  ceilings 
of  cellars  and  light  shafts.  In  the  first  tenement-house 
which  was  thus  renovated,  the  work  was  done  by  six  men 
and  a  foreman,  and  half  the  cost  of  the  material  used  was 
contributed  by  the  owner.  Later,  from  the  cellar  of  this 
same  house,  fifty  barrels  of  refuse  were  removed,  and 
carted  away  at  the  owner's  expense.  The  largest  number 
employed  at  any  one  time  in  this  work  was  491.  The 
method  of  work,  as  described  by  Mrs.  Lowell,  was  as 
follows :  — 

To  canvass  a  street,  every  tenement-house  in  it  was 
visited,  and  the  name  of  the  landlord  secured.  When  the 
landlord  lived  in  the  house,  as  in  many  instances,  his  per- 
mission was  secured,  if  possible,  to  whitewash  the  rooms 
that  had  been  kalsomined.  Permission  was  also  obtained 
to  remove  refuse  from  the  cellars,  and  to  scrub  paint 
where  it  was  necessary,  the  board  of  health  having  stated 
that  the  cleaning  of  the  paint  is  as  healthful  as  whitewash- 
ing the  rooms.  Having  canvassed  the  street,  a  clerk  was 
sent  to  the  landlords  living  out  of  the  district  to  secure 
their  permission.  A  few  of  them  paid  for  the  material. 

After  securing  the  consent  of  the  landlord,  a  foreman 
was  sent  with  a  force  of  cellar  cleaners  to  all  the  cellars 
where  work  was  to  be  done,  to  prepare  them  for  the  white- 


CHAP,  iv  RENOVATION   OF   TENEMENTS  417 

washing.  The  street-cleaning  commissioner  carted  away 
most  of  the  cellar  refuse,  and  gave  permission  to  dump  all 
in  the  public  scows.  The  scrubbers  followed  the  white- 
washers,  and  after  them  a  woman,  employed  to  talk  to 
the  tenants  whose  rooms  had  been  renovated,  to  see  if  the 
improvements  could  not  be  made  permanent  by  care  on 
their  part.  This  proved  to  be  a  very  satisfactory  fea- 
ture of  the  work.  In  addition  to  the  sub-committee,  an 
advisory  board  of  visitors  inspected  the  work,  made  sug- 
gestions to  the  board,  and  assumed  in  part  the  responsi- 
bility for  the  men  and  their  work,  besides  auditing  the 
books  regularly. 

Permission  to  renovate  property  was  at  first  hard  to 
get,  but  after  the  quality  of  the  work  could  be  inspected 
and  the  beneficial  effect  observed  owners  were,  as  a  rule, 
glad  to  have  the  work  done.  Seven  hundred  houses,  com- 
prising 3000  rooms,  800  halls,  500  cellars,  250  shops, 
stables,  lofts,  yards,  alleys,  etc.,  were  whitewashed,  and 
in  addition  to  this  work  3485  barrels  of  refuse,  largely 
dirt,  but  including  39  of  iron,  and  154  of  rags  and  bones, 
besides  dead  dogs,  cats,  and  rats,  were  taken  out  of  550 
cellars.  Besides  this,  2500  halls  and  2200  rooms  were 
cleaned  and  scrubbed. 

In  the  period  for  which  statistics  were  prepared  by  the 
committee  1153  individuals  were  employed  in  this  work, 
representing  more  than  70  different  trades  and  27  nation- 
alities. They  had  461  other  persons  dependent  upon 
them. 

The  committee  prepared  and  sent  to  clergymen  and 
charitable  organizations  a  special  circular  inviting  their 
cooperation  in  paying  the  wages  of  men  engaged  in  sani- 
tation work,  and  from  those  who  responded  to  this  circular, 
paying  for  work  tickets  to  be  distributed  by  themselves, 
12644  was  received.  Expenditures  in  the  three  kinds  of 
work  undertaken  by  the  committee  were  as  follows :  — 

For  street  sweeping $65,738.14 

For  tailoring  and  sewing  at  home     .         .          25,364.43 
For  whitewashing,  etc 22,424.44 

The  following  tables  will  show  the  details  of  these 
expenditures  :  — 


418 


PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF 


PART  IV 


I.   STREET  SWEEPING 


BROOMS  AND 
SHOVELS 

LABOR  AND 

SUPERVISION 

EENTS 

INCIDENTALS—  (POSTAGE, 
PRINTING,  STATIONERY, 
FUEL,  GAS,  HORSE  FOR 
SUPERINTENDENT,  ETC.) 

$2272.25 

$62,346.37 

$500 

$619.52 

II.   TAILORING  AND  SEWING  AT  HOME 


KENT 

FURNITURE 
AND  RENT  OF 
MACHINES  1 

COAL  AND 
LUNCH 

MATERIAL 

CUTTING 
BUTTON- 
HOLES AND 
SUNDRIES 

SUPERVI- 
SION 

LABOR 

$365 

$667.38 

$423.11 

$5945.33 

$314.43 

$1036.87 

$16,612.31 

III.   SANITARY  WHITEWASHING,  ETC. 


MATERIALS 

INCIDENTALS 

SUPERVISION  2 

LABOR 

$1501.63 

$363.06 

$1001.99 

$19,557.76 

IV.   GENERAL  SUMMARY 


GENERAL 

EXPENSES  OF 
MANAGEMENT 

STREET 
SWEEPING 

TAILOR  SHOPS 
AND  SEWING 

SANITATION 
BUREAU 

MISSIONS 

AND 

SOCIETIES 

TOTAL 

$385.62 

$65,738.14 

$25,364.43 

$22,424.44 

$3179.09 

$117,091.72 

The  notable  features  of  the  work  were  that  laborers 
were  not  attracted  from  other  parts  of  the  city,  nor  from 
places  outside  the  city,  this  having  been  avoided  by  not 

1  Seventy-five  machines  were  hired,  and  six  lent  by  the  United  Hebrew 
Charities. 

2  Men  applying  with  tickets,  when  found  competent,  were  taken  on  as 
regular  employees  and  put  in  positions  of  responsibility. 


CHAP,  iv  SUCCESS   OF  THESE   MEASURES  419 

allowing  work  to  be  in  any  way  advertised,  and  by  the 
giving  of  employment  only  to  men  and  women  who  pre- 
sented tickets.  The  pay  for  work  was  in  money,  the 
amounts  received  in  wages  going  directly  into  the  natural 
currents  of  trade  in  the  neighborhood,  and  thus  relieving, 
at  least  to  a  slight  extent,  the  distress  of  retail  dealers. 
The  demoralizing  physical  and  moral  results  of  long-con- 
tinued idleness  were  obviated  in  the  case  of  five  thousand 
men  and  women,  to  whom  work  was  given.  The  work 
undertaken  was  all  of  a  useful  character,  and  was  so  man- 
aged as  to  interfere  in  the  slightest  possible  degree  with 
normal  employment.  At  the  close  of  this  work  the  com- 
mittee adopted  the  following  declaration  :  — 

"  The  East  Side  Relief  Work  Committee  desires  to  place 
on  record  its  conviction  that  the  methods  by  which  it  has 
been  able  to  alleviate  the  distress  prevailing  on  the  East 
Side  during  the  past  winter,  however  necessary  and  useful 
in  an  emergency,  should  be  adopted  only  under  abnormal 
conditions,  such  as  have  existed  in  New  York  for  nine 
months. 

"When  industry  and  trade  are  natural,  the  only  safe 
course  for  the  working  people  is  to  accommodate  them- 
selves to  their  circumstances,  or  to  change  them  by  their 
own  action.  The  efforts  of  philanthropists  to  compensate, 
by  artificial  means,  for  irregularity  of  work  or  low  wages 
can  only  result  in  mischief. 

"The  Committee  makes  this  declaration  lest  its  efforts, 
undertaken  at  a  time  when  for  thousands  there  was  no 
work  either  in  this  city  or  elsewhere,  and  the  people  were 
consequently  powerless  to  help  themselves,  should  be  used 
as  an  argument  in  favor  of  the  same  methods  of  relief  in 
normal  times,  when  there  is  work  to  be  done,  and  what  is 
needed  is  individual  effort  to  find  it,  or  concerted  effort  to 
make  it  worth  doing ;  but  the  Committee  does  not  wish 
to  be  understood  except  as  approving  labor  tests  and  edu- 
cational work,  which  are  entirely  distinct  in  their  nature 
and  effects  from  relief  work." 

In  the  report  of  the  Commercial  Club  Relief  Committee 
of  Indianapolis  to  the  directors  of  the  club,  regret  is 
expressed  that  there  had  not  been  available  a  knowledge 


420  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

of  the  experience  of  others  in  dealing  with  like  conditions. 
The  committee's  own  work  was  reviewed  somewhat  mi- 
nutely in  the  hope  that  the  record  might  have  value  in  the 
future  for  those  upon  whom  similar  tasks  should  fall,  and 
because  the  work  done  by  the  committee  had  been  espe- 
cially commended  by  those  who  had  had  an  opportunity  to 
compare  the  measures  adopted  in  various  cities. 

The  movement  which  resulted  in  the  formation  of  the 
committee  began  with  a  series  of  public  meetings  "  of  idle 
men  whose  express  purpose  was  to  attract  public  atten- 
tion to  the  need,  then  rapidly  becoming  more  and  more 
distressing,  of  working  people  who  had  been  out  of  employ- 
ment for  several  months."  l  At  one  of  these  public  meet- 
ings a  committee  was  appointed  to  appear  before  the 
directors  of  the  Commercial  Club,  and  a  special  committee 
was  appointed  as  a  result  of  this  appeal.  This  special 
committee  submitted  its  report  to  the  directors  on  Novem- 
ber 14,  emphasizing  the  idea  that  relief  should  be  given  in 
a  way  that  would  enable  recipients  to  earn  it ;  that  as  a 
first  step  there  should  be  an  appeal  to  citizens  to  give 
employment  wherever  they  could,  however  little  it  might 
be.  The  methods  suggested  were  :  — 

I.  Registration  of  unemployed. 

II.  Efforts  to  secure  temporary  employment  for  them 
through  public  contracts  and  such  work  as  could  be  pro- 
vided by  citizens. 

III.  Leniency   toward    worthy  persons   known   to   be 
unable   to    meet  their  obligations  for  rent,  to   building 
associations,  etc. 

IV.  Protection   to   home   laborers  from  an   influx   of 
outside  workingmen  seeking  employment. 

V.  The   establishment,  when  it  became  necessary,  of 
a  place   where   substantial   food   could  be   bought   at   a 
nominal  price. 

The  report  was  concurred  in  by  the  directors  of  the 
club,  a  public  meeting  of  the  unemployed,  and  the  mayor. 
The  special  committee  was  continued  as  a  permanent  com- 
mittee to  carry  out  the  recommendations  which  had  been 
made.  The  committee  held  daily  sessions,  and  at  the  out- 

1  Report  of  Relief  for  the  Unemployed  in  Indianapolis,  1893-1894, 
from  which  report  the  present  account  is  condensed. 


CHAP,  iv         THE  UNEMPLOYED   IN  INDIANAPOLIS  421 

set  much  time  was  consumed  in  "explanations  to  inter- 
ested persons  who  had  mistaken  ideas,  and  conferences 
with  representatives  of  the  unemployed,  whose  misunder- 
standings needed  to  be  dispelled."  There  was  later  a 
series  of  public  meetings,  conducted  by  men  who  were  not 
identified  with  the  beginning  of  the  movement  on  the 
part  of  the  destitute  unemployed,  and  whose  efforts  were 
directed  to  creating  dissatisfaction  and  ill  feeling;  but, 
although  annoying,  these  meetings  had  little  perceptible 
effect. 

At  first  it  was  announced  that  contributions  for  relief 
were  not  desired,  and  efforts  were  directed  mainly  to 
procuring  employment.  In  the  meantime,  the  committee 
representing  the  unemployed,  chosen  at  one  of  their  public 
meetings,  had  undertaken  to  provide  relief  until  the  per- 
manent committee  could  take  up  the  work.  They  were, 
however,  asked  to  discontinue  this  when  arrangements 
had  been  made  by  the  permanent  committee  for  the  relief 
of  destitution  through  the  agency  of  the  Charity  Organi- 
zation Society.  The  report  of  the  committee  says  that 
"  in  asking  the  society  to  temporarily  take  up  this  part  of 
the  work  the  committee  desired  that  the  ability  of  the 
organized  agencies  for  the  relief  of  distress  should  be 
tested  before  proceeding  with  other  plans.  The  usual 
methods  of  charity  work  were  not  applied  to  the  unem- 
ployed class  who  were  referred  to  them."  All  cases  of 
need  which  were  thereafter  reported  were  looked  after  by 
the  Charity  Organization  Society,  which  expended  about 
$4000  in  such  emergency  relief.  The  committee  pledged 
itself  to  reimburse  the  treasury  of  the  society,  so  that  it 
would  not  be  without  funds  to  carry  on  its  usual  charitable 
work  during  the  remainder  of  the  year.  This  enabled  the 
committee  to  supply  food  where  necessary,  without  mak- 
ing an  immediate  public  appeal  for  that  purpose.  Any 
effort  to  raise  funds  by  benefits  on  a  percentage  basis  was 
discouraged. 

Four  days  after  receiving  instructions  to  proceed  to 
carry  out  the  plan  which  had  been  outlined,  the  com- 
mittee opened  an  employment  bureau  in  the  basement  of 
the  Commercial  Club  building.  It  was  the  intention  to 
make  registration  in  this  bureau  a  basis  of  the  further 


422  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

work  of  the  committee,  and  an  application  for  employ- 
ment was  regarded  as  having  some  significance  of  worthi- 
ness as  well  as  of  need.  Applicants  at  the  Charity 
Organization  Society,  who  had  not  registered  at  the 
bureau,  were  sent  there  to  give  some  evidence  of  willing- 
ness to  work  before  relief  was  given  ;  and,  on  the  other 
hand,  the  bureau  referred  to  the  society  those  who,  in 
registering,  stated  that  they  were  in  immediate  need.  In 
the  first  month  between  fifty  and  sixty  registered  on  an 
average  each  day.  Temporary  employment  was  procured 
for  about  one-fifth  of  this  number.  The  relief  afforded 
in  this  way,  although  not  less  than  was  anticipated,  was 
inadequate.  It  was  demonstrated,  among  other  things, 
that  the  "dependent  class  was  largely  composed  of  per- 
sons who  were  the  first  to  be  discharged  when  labor  was 
not  required,  and  the  last  to  be  employed  when  it  was 
needed."  While  the  need  of  relief  was  thus  being  demon- 
strated, steps  were  taken  to  arrest  tramps  and  to  send 
them  to  the  workhouse  under  the  vagrancy  law,  where  a 
stone  pile  was  provided  as  a  means  of  furnishing  work. 
Gradually,  as  the  public  began  to  realize  the  extent  to 
which  they  were  being  imposed  upon  by  tramps  pretend- 
ing to  be  unemployed  men  in  need,  the  enforcement  of 
the  law  became  more  strict.  The  mayor  and  board  of 
public  works  promised  assistance  in  requiring  the  speedy 
construction  of  sewers,  the  repairing  of  streets,  etc.,  but 
on  account  of  unfavorable  weather  and  other  reasons  little 
relief  was  experienced  from  this  source. 

By  the  latter  part  of  December  the  number  of  persons 
who  were  being  supplied  with  food  by  the  Society  had 
increased  to  more  than  three  thousand.  It  was  felt  that 
an  appeal  for  funds  could  no  longer  be  safely  deferred, 
and  on  December  15  a  statement  was  issued  that  by  the 
end  of  the  month  there  would  probably  be  four  thousand 
persons  dependent  upon  the  public  for  their  food.  A 
printed  appeal  by  the  committee,  together  with  a  type- 
written letter  by  the  chairman,  was  sent  to  every  person 
in  the  city  whose  name  appeared  in  the  list  of  commercial 
agencies,  and  it  was  also  sent  to  a  large  number  of  citizens 
whose  names  were  found  in  the  city  directory.  A  force 
of  from  ten  to  fifteen  typewriters  was  engaged  for  several 


CHAP,  iv  APPEAL  FOR  FUNDS  423 

days  and  nights  in  getting  out  letters  signed  by  the  chair- 
man. In  response  to  this  appeal  voluntary  subscriptions 
amounting  to  some  $6000  were  received.  There  was  then 
appointed  a  citizens'  finance  committee  to  conduct  a  fur- 
ther canvass,  and  this  committee  called  to  its  assistance 
many  private  citizens.  About  $13,000  was  obtained  in 
this  canvass,  many  of  these  subscriptions  being  payable  in 
instalments  continuing  until  the  first  of  April.  Subscrip- 
tions were  obtained  from  employees  of  firms,  including  in 
some  instances  the  firm  members,  amounting  to  $4765.85. 
The  payments  of  these  subscriptions  were  to  be  deducted 
from  the  weekly  pay-roll. 

A  food  market  was  opened  on  the  last  day  of  the  year,  at 
which  time  the  Charity  Organization  Society  was  supply- 
ing food  to  nearly  a  thousand  families,  representing  about 
four  thousand  persons.  The  society's  available  funds 
were  then  exhausted  and  those  who  had  been  supplied  with 
food  were  thereupon  referred  to  the  food  market,  the  sec- 
retary of  the  society  certifying  that,  "according  to  the 
best  obtainable  information,  they  were  residents  of  Indian- 
apolis who  belonged  to  the  unemployed  class,  and  were 
entitled  to  the  credit  offered  to  persons  in  need."  Account- 
books  were  issued  to  applicants  at  the  market,  providing 
for  entries  of  the  charges  for  supplies,  with  the  date  of 
issue,  and  containing  a  certificate  of  the  worthiness  of  the 
applicant,  as  ascertained  by  inquiry,  showing  his  address 
and  the  number  in  his  family.  It  also  contained  a  copy 
of  an  agreement  which  the  applicants  were  required  to 
sign,  pledging  themselves  to  pay  on  demand  such  sums  as 
might  become  due  from  them,  or,  whenever  called  upon 
to  do  so  by  the  committee,  to  perform  such  work  as  might 
be  required  of  them  at  12J  cents  per  hour,  to  be  applied  to 
the  payment  of  their  indebtedness  for  supplies.  This  was 
to  be  the  rate  of  pay  for  common  labor  only ;  if  skilled 
work  should  be  required,  it  was  agreed  that  a  special  rate 
of  pay  would  be  allowed.  This  book  was  intended  to 
serve  the  purpose  of  keeping  the  debtor  advised  as  to  the 
status  of  his  account,  and  to  impress  him  with  the  business 
spirit  of  the  dealings  with  him.  The  food  market  was 
located  at  a  point  convenient  to  the  headquarters  of  the 
committee.  It  was  organized  in  two  different  departments, 


424  PRINCIPLES  OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

one  devoted  to  registration  and  investigation,  the  other  to 
the  issuance  of  supplies.  The  managers  of  its  two  depart- 
ments were  coordinate  in  authority,  and  both  were  under 
the  direction  of  the  relief  committee,  to  whom  they  made 
daily  reports.  A  corps  of  visitors  was  employed  to  inves- 
tigate applications,  a  report  from  the  visitor  being  required 
within  twenty-four  hours.  The  daily  average  number  of 
cases  reported  by  each  visitor  was  about  eight,  and  a  suffi- 
cient force  was  employed  to  keep  up  with  the  work.  It 
was  the  duty  of  the  visitor  to  ascertain  as  accurately  as 
possible  the  facts  regarding  the  citizenship  and  need  of  the 
applicant.  This  information  was  obtained  from  neighbors, 
from  shopkeepers  with  whom  the  applicant  had  traded,  and 
by  personal  interview  and  observation  at  the  home  of  the 
applicant.  The  last  employer,  the  landlord,  and  those  to 
whom  references  were  made,  were  also  interviewed  in  many 
cases. 

If  the  written  reports  which  were  made  on  each  case 
contained  no  information  decidedly  unfavorable  or  sugges- 
tive of  doubt  as  to  the  citizenship  or  need  of  the  appli- 
cant, credit  at  the  food  market  was  granted,  in  evidence 
of  which  an  account-book  was  issued  to  the  applicant, 
containing  a  certificate  signed  by  the  manager  of  the 
registration  and  investigation  department.  When  the  ap- 
plicant became  the  possessor  of  an  account-book  his  name 
was  entered  in  various  books  of  record  with  a  number  cor- 
responding in  all  of  them  for  convenience  of  reference. 
When  the  applicant  passed  from  the  registration  bureau 
to  the  food  market  he  was  given  a  numbered  check  if 
there  were  many  persons  waiting,  and  when  this  number 
was  reached  his  check  was  taken  up,  his  book  examined, 
and  the  manager  asked  such  questions  as  appeared  to  him 
advisable,  when  there  was  any  reason  to  doubt  the  good 
faith  of  the  applicant.  At  a  later  stage,  when  the  arrange- 
ments for  requiring  work  had  been  completed,  a  card  was 
given  directing  the  applicant  to  report  to  the  street  com- 
missioner for  work,  the  performance  of  which  would  entitle 
him  to  credit.  When  the  applicant  had  satisfactory  credits 
for  the  performance  of  labor,  he  was  given  an  order  by  the 
manager  of  the  food  depot  for  a  week's  ration  for  the  num- 
ber shown  by  his  book  to  belong  to  his  family.  This  order 


CHAP,  iv  THE   FOOD   MARKET  425 

was  presented  to  the  chief  dispensing  clerk  in  another  part 
of  the  building,  and  the  ration  to  which  he  was  entitled 
was  delivered,  the  order  being  filed  for  future  reference. 
In  the  selection  of  the  kinds  of  food  supplied  the 
committee  sought  to  obtain  the  most  wholesome  and  nu- 
tritious at  the  lowest  cost.  Wholesale  dealers  readily 
agreed,  when  called  upon,  to  sell  to  the  committee  at  first 
cost,  thus  saving  the  committee  a  large  sum  of  money. 
Purchasers  were  given  the  full  benefit  of  this  saving,  the 
charge  being  almost  exact  cost  rate,  exclusive  of  expenses 
of  administration.  The  charge  for  food  at  the  market  was 
about  half  the  usual  price  for  the  same  article  at  any  retail 
store  in  the  city.  After  some  slight  changes  the  ration 
for  four  or  five  persons  for  one  week  was  as  follows  :  pota- 
toes, 12  Ibs.;  corn  meal,  10  Ibs. ;  beans,  2  Ibs.,  or  hominy, 
6  Ibs. ;  bread,  6  loaves  and  8  Ibs.  of  flour,  or  10  loaves  of 
bread  ;  fresh  pork,  4  Ibs. ;  pickled  pork,  2  Ibs. ;  lard,  £  Ib. ; 
coffee,  ^  Ib. ;  sugar,  1  Ib. ;  syrup,  1  qt. ;  salt,  ^  Ib. ;  soap, 
1  bar.  The  charge  for  this  ration  was  $1.  The  commit- 
tee reports  that  there  was  general  satisfaction  with  it 
except  in  a  few  instances  of  persons  of  excessive  appetite 
who  wanted  a  larger  quantity.  Soon  after  the  market  was 
opened  a  committee  representing  one  of  the  public  meet- 
ings of  the  unemployed  visited  the  market  and  inspected 
the  stock  of  supplies.  They  reported  that  the  quality  was 
good  and  commended  the  managers  of  the  market.  Ar- 
rangements were  also  made  to  supply  coal  to  those  in  need 
of  fuel.  A  regular  allowance  of  300  Ibs.  per  week  was 
decided  upon,  and  for  this  two  tickets  were  issued,  each 
calling  for  150  Ibs.  It  was  delivered  to  the  purchasers  in 
wheelbarrows.  A  mining  company  gave  thirteen  car-loads 
of  coal,  which  was  sufficient  to  meet  all  demands  until  the 
latter  part  of  February.  A  charge  was  made  for  the  coal 
as  for  other  supplies,  but  opportunities  were  given  to  earn 
it  by  work.  The  charge  was  fixed  at  ten  cents  per  100  Ibs. 
When  the  donation  was  exhausted,  the  committee  pur- 
chased four  car-loads,  of  which  thirty  tons  were  left 
on  hand  at  the  close  of  the  work  and  turned  over  to  the 
Charity  Organization  Society.  Shoes  were  also  supplied 
from  the  market,  principally,  however,  old  shoes  collected 
by  solicitors  who  made  a  house-to-house  canvass  for  this 


426  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  IV 

purpose.  A  repair  shop  was  opened,  and  shoes  were  sup- 
plied at  the  exact  cost  of  repairing,  or  at  the  price  at  which 
they  had  been  purchased.  All  together,  about  1500  pairs 
of  shoes  and  boots,  of  various  sizes,  were  collected  and  re- 
paired, and  36  pairs  were  purchased.  The  latter  were  of 
large  sizes  for  which  the  demand  exceeded  the  supply  of 
cast-off  shoes.  Six  hundred  and  thirty-two  pairs  were  on 
hand  at  the  close  of  the  work,  and  were  turned  over  to 
the  Charity  Organization  Society. 

The  expectation  that  the  city  might  be  able  to  provide 
employment  on  public  work  with  compensation  from  the 
city  treasury  was  not  fulfilled.  The  committee  finally 
offered  to  furnish  the  labor  at  its  command  for  public 
work  with  the  understanding  that  compensation  would  be 
made  from  the  relief  funds.  It  was  through  this  kind  of 
employment  that  credits  were  obtained  at  the  market  in 
return  for  which  food,  fuel,  and  shoes  were  supplied.  In 
the  beginning  of  the  arrangement  from  fifty  to  sixty  men 
a  day  were  directed  to  report  to  the  street  commissioner 
for  work,  and  they  were  sent  by  him  to  clean  streets. 
Later  the  board  of  public  works  wanted  to  use  the  labor 
to  make  an  excavation  for  a  lake  at  Garfield  Park.  The 
committee  agreed  to  furnish  the  labor  at  their  command 
for  this  purpose,  on  the  condition  that  the  board  would 
provide  transportation  for  the  men  from  the  central  part 
of  the  city  to  the  park,  and  thus  save  those  living  in  the 
northern  part  of  the  city  the  hardship  of  walking  several 
miles  in  going  to,  and  returning  from,  their  day's  work. 
The  board  induced  the  Citizens'  Railway  Company  to  pro- 
vide transportation  without  charge.  While  the  street 
commissioner  continued  to  utilize  some  of  the  labor  in 
cleaning  streets,  a  very  much  larger  number  of  men  were 
sent  to  the  park  to  work  on  the  excavation  of  the  lake. 
The  men  seemed  to  prefer  the  work  at  the  park  for  the 
reason  that  they  were  subjected  to  less  public  notice  than 
when  employed  on  the  streets.  The  results  of  this  par- 
ticular work,  however,  were  not  satisfactory  to  the  commit- 
tee. Complaints  were  made  from  time  to  time  that  the 
facilities  and  superintendence  provided  by  the  board  of 
public  works  were  inadequate,  and  that  many  of  the  men 
shirked.  Finally  the  committee  assigned  a  man  to  the 


CHAP,  iv  EMPLOYMENT  ON  PUBLIC  WORKS  427 

duty  of  looking  after  all  labor,  arid  daily  reports  were  re- 
quired from  him  regarding  the  conduct  of  the  men.  The 
information  which  was  thus  obtained  enabled  the  commit- 
tee to  bring  about  better  control  of  the  men  and  compel 
more  efficient  work.  A  few  discharges  for  insubordination 
and  shirking  had  a  wholesome  effect.  It  was  found  that 
some  of  the  men  were  sending  their  sons,  from  thirteen  to 
sixteen  years  of  age,  to  perform  their  work.  This,  how- 
ever, was  stopped,  and  for  a  time  there  were  as  many  as 
three  hundred  men  a  day  emplo}^ed  at  the  park,  though 
the  average  was  much  below  this. 

At  one  time  during  the  winter,  immediately  after  a 
heavy  snow-storm,  several  hundred  men  were  put  at  work 
removing  snow  from  the  street  gutters.  Shovels  were 
loaned  for  this  purpose  by  the  city  and  the  natural  gas 
companies.  This  was  one  of  the  most  satisfactorily  per- 
formed tasks  to  which  the  men  were  assigned.  As  there 
were  more  than  a  thousand  men  pledged  to  perform  labor 
in  payment  of  their  accounts  at  the  market,  it  was  deter- 
mined that  they  should  be  assigned  to  do  only  one  day's 
work  at  a  time,  so  that  all  should  be  given  sufficient  em- 
ployment to  pay  for  the  ration  charged  to  them  each  week, 
with  the  exception  of  those  who  drew  supplies  for  fami- 
lies of  more  than  four  or  five  in  number,  who  should  be 
allowed  to  work  two  or  three  days  a  week.  It  was  the 
purpose,  in  thus  limiting  the  work,  to  avoid  pledging  the 
credit  of  the  market  in  advance  and  possibly  unnecessarily. 
The  increasing  number  of  applicants  and  the  frequent 
interference  with  work  by  unfavorable  weather,  soon 
caused  a  large  accumulation  of  indebtedness  to  the  mar- 
ket. To  clear  up  this  the  committee  asked  the  board  of 
public  works  to  provide  employment  for  a  time  for  from 
two  to  three  hundred  men  a  day,  which  was  done,  and  the 
debtors  were  required  to  work  successively  as  many  days 
as  necessary  to  liquidate  their  accounts.  Many  of  the 
men  took  advantage  of  the  circumstances  which  brought 
about  this  condition,  and  did  not  perform  the  work  re- 
quired to  pay  for  the  rations  which  they  had  received. 
When  called  upon  to  give  their  labor,  in  accordance  with 
the  agreement,  they  stopped  drawing  rations  from  the 
market. 


428  PRINCIPLES   OF   BELIEF  PART  iv 

Later,  when  many  of  them  again  applied  for  credit, 
they  were  denied  the  benefit  of  the  market  until  they 
had  worked  out  the  amount  of  their  indebtedness.  This 
accumulation  of  indebtedness  was  not  due  alone  to  the 
weather's  interference  with  outdoor  labor,  but  also  to  the 
necessity  of  supplying  food  to  persons  in  need  of  it  at 
the  time  the  market  was  opened  until  they  could  be  given 
an  opportunity  of  doing  it. 

It  became  evident  after  the  first  three  weeks  that  it  was 
the  disposition  of  a  large  number  of  men  to  avoid  work  if 
possible.  It  was  therefore  determined  to  require  them 
to  work  before  they  could  draw  rations,  and  to  present  at 
the  market  cards  of  credit  from  the  street  commissioner 
or  his  foreman.  No  work,  no  rations,  was  the  rule.  Ex- 
perience demonstrated  that  it  was  in  every  way  a  whole- 
some requirement,  and  later  this  was  followed,  when  a 
system  of  inspection  was  instituted,  with  rigid  insistence 
that  no  shirking  should  be  permitted.  The  effect  of  this 
rule  was  good  also  in  impressing  the  men  with  the  idea  of 
honestly  endeavoring  to  earn  all  they  received. 

At  the  end  of  the  season  the  books  showed  an  aggregate 
indebtedness  of  a  comparatively  small  amount  —  less  than 
$1000,  exclusive  of  the  accounts  with  widows  —  from  per- 
sons who  had  failed  to  perform  the  required  work.  The 
committee  reports  that  many  of  the  beneficiaries  evinced 
eagerness  to  earn  credit  and  manifestly  appreciated  the 
arrangement  which  gave  them  an  opportunity  of  obtain- 
ing food  in  exchange  for  work  when  it  was  all  they  had 
to  offer  in  payment  for  it. 

The  greatest  difficulty  in  discriminating  among  appli- 
cants occurred  in  connection  with  those  who  were  not 
absolutely  destitute.  Conditions  were  as  different  as  the 
families  to  be  aided.  In  the  larger  families  some  of  the 
children  or  the  mother  were  found  to  be  earning  some- 
thing, possibly  not  more  than  three  dollars  a  week,  barely 
enough  to  pay  rent  and  fuel  bills.  Relief  was  given  in 
such  cases.  Then  there  were  other  applications  from 
those  holding  an  equity  in  their  property  through  a  loan 
association,  or,  indeed,  in  actual  ownership  of  their  prop- 
erty. To  deny  relief  in  the  former  case  would  be,  per- 
haps, to  cause  a  forfeit  .of  equity  and  the  home  for  which 


CHAP,  iv  DISCIPLINE   AND   DISCRIMINATION  429 

the  nominal  owner  was  struggling  to  pay.  Relief  was 
generally  given  in  such  cases.  The  same  rule  applied 
usually  to  those  whose  property  was  encumbered  by  mort- 
gage. But  relief  was  rarely  given  when  the  applicant 
owned  his  property  free  of  debt.  When  it  was  done 
there  were  circumstances  of  advanced  age  or  debility  to 
be  considered.  The  presence  of  sickness,  insanity,  or 
other  grievous  afflictions  in  the  family  also  entered  into 
conclusions  of  judgment.  Many  applications  were  from 
pensioners,  and  in  these  cases  the  age,  health,  size  of  fam- 
ily and  of  pension,  were  considered.  Credit  was  not  given 
to  single  men  unless  the  need  was  extreme,  and  then  it 
was  the  practice,  as  far  as  possible,  to  add  them  to  the 
families  of  those  who  were  patrons  of  the  market. 

There  was  a  serious  question  in  extending  credit  to 
those  known  to  belong  to  the  criminal  or  dissolute  classes. 
It  was  thought  best  not  to  establish  a  standard  of  morality, 
but  to  let  need  have  determining  weight.  Account  was 
taken  of  the  fact  that  relief  had  a  motive  of  police  pro- 
tection as  well  as  of  humanity.  This  was  illustrated  in 
the  answer  of  a  young  negro  who  was  a  willing  worker : 
"  What  would  you  have  done  this  winter  except  for  the 
food  market  ?  "  was  asked  ;  "  Gone  to  stealin',  "  was  the 
quick  reply.  "  There  would  not  have  been  jails  enough 
in  the  county  to  hold  all  who  would  have  been  arrested. 
I'll  steal  before  I'll  starve."  It  is  noteworthy  that  the 
arrests  for  larceny  were  not  above  the  usual  number  dur- 
ing the  winter. 

The  market  at  first  proved  highly  attractive  to  women: 
widows,  and  those  who  were  deserted  by  their  husbands, 
and  had  children  dependent  on  them.  There  was  no  way 
of  providing  work  for  them,  as  was  done  with  the  men, 
and  before  January  closed  there  were  nearly  three  hundred 
such  persons  on  the  list.  The  opportunity  for  deception 
as  to  the  desertion  of  husbands  was  so  great  and  the  tax 
so  heavy  that  it  was  decided  to  send  all  women  from  whom 
pay  in  work  could  not  be  expected  to  the  Charity  Organi- 
zation Societ}7"  for  investigation,  and  also  for  the  applica- 
tion of  a  work  test.  A  requirement  that  labor  should  be 
performed  by  washing'  clothes  at  the  Friendly  Inn,  where 
facilities  were  provided,  had  good  results.  A  number  of 


430  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  iv 

the  women  produced  able-bodied  sons  who  afterward 
worked  out  their  accounts,  and  some  husbands  suddenly 
returned  to  their  families.  The  market  continued  to  sup- 
ply rations  to  the  worthy,  but  only  on  orders  from  the 
Charity  Organization  Society. 

About  two-fifths  of  those  who  received  relief  were  Ne- 
groes, and  this  was  estimated  to  be  twenty  per  cent  of 
the  colored  population  of  the  city.  The  number  of  Ne- 
groes who  asked  merely  for  work  was  proportionately 
much  less  than  the  number  of  whites.  Only  forty  per 
cent  of  the  applicants  were  artisans,  and  these  were  largely 
carpenters  or  in  other  building  trades. 

The  committee  limited  itself  to  the  supply  of  food,  fuel, 
clothing,  and  shoes ;  but  distress  requiring  other  forms  of 
relief  was  continually  brought  to  the  committee's  atten- 
tion. The  question  of  rents  was  especially  troublesome, 
but  the  committee  believed  it  to  be  impracticable  to  under- 
take to  meet  demands  from  landlords,  which  would  exhaust 
the  relief  fund  at  once,  and  would  have  left  the  committee 
without  means  of  providing  food  and  other  necessities 
of  living  for  dependent  people.  Besides,  even  if  there 
were  sufficient  funds,  it  would  not  have  been  right  to 
divert  to  the  benefit  of  landlords  the  money  contributed 
by  citizens  for  the  relief  of  dependent  people,  and  there 
would  unavoidably  have  been  much  imposition.  It  was, 
therefore,  the  determined  policy  of  the  committee  not  to 
undertake  to  meet  demands  of  this  kind.  Applicants  for 
aid  who  were  threatened  with  eviction  were  told  that  noth- 
ing could  be  done  for  them  unless  they  were  actually  de- 
prived of  shelter,  and  then  they  must  endeavor  to  find,  if 
possible,  temporary  lodging  with  relatives  or  friends. 
Only  two  or  three  of  these  people  ever  returned  to  report 
themselves  as  homeless  and  helpless.  While  the  money- 
less people  were  pressed  for  payments  and  were  under 
continual  harassment  from  threats,  there  were,  as  a  mat- 
ter of  fact,  fewer  evictions  than  usual  at  the  same  time  of 
year.  Landlords  and  rental  agents  strenuously  endeav- 
ored to  enforce  the  payments  due  them,  but  refrained 
finally  from  resorting  to  the  usual  extreme  methods.  In 
many  cases  advantage  was  taken  by  tenants  who  could 
have  paid,  but  availed  themselves  of  the  excuse  chargeable 


CHAP,  iv  LIMITS   OF   EMERGENCY   WORK  431 

to  the  times.  Evictions  were  hardly  to  be  expected,  how- 
ever, except  in  flagrant  cases  of  untrustworthiness,  for  the 
reason  that  both  the  landlords  and  rental  agents  realized 
that  if  tenants  were  thrown  out,  they  would  certainly  lose 
the  amount  due  them  and  their  property  would  remain  un- 
occupied ;  if  other  tenants  were  secured,  it  was  improb- 
able that  they  would  be  more  likely  to  pay  than  those 
who  were  evicted.  It  seemed,  therefore,  wise  for  them  to 
permit  property  to  be  occupied  by  people  who  had  paid 
in  the  past  when  they  were  able  to  do  so,  and  would  prob- 
ably liquidate  their  indebtedness  when  they  again  obtained 
employment.  Although  there  was  constant  annoyance  on 
account  of  the  rent  question,  the  burden  of  it  was  neces- 
sarily left  to  the  people  upon  whom  it  already  rested,  and 
in  the  end  there  were  no  serious  results. 

The  market  was  gradually  closed  during  the  month  of 
March,  with  the  cooperation  of  the  Charity  Organization 
Society  in  taking  over  those  who  remained  on  the  lists 
when  the  closing  was  finally  effected.  Inasmuch  as  the 
relief  committee  had  exhausted  its  own  funds,  the  county 
commissioners  were  requested  to  make  an  appropriation 
of  §4000  to  the  Charity  Organization  Society  to  carry  out 
the  arrangement  which  had  been  made  that  the  society 
should  be  reimbursed  for  the  emergency  relief  supplied 
in  the  early  part  of  the  winter. 

In  concluding  its  report,  the  committee  quotes  from  an 
article  by  Dr.  Albert  Shaw,  on  "Relief  Measures  in 
America  during  the  Winter  of  1893  and  1894,"  a  refer- 
ence to  the  work  in  Indianapolis  as  the  "  model  instance 
of  relief  work."  This  praise  is  not  undeserved,  although 
in  the  success  with  which  employment  was  substituted  for 
relief,  and  in  the  ingenuity  with  which  useful  employment, 
from  the  standpoint  of  the  community,  was  devised,  the 
achievements  of  the  New  York  East  Side  Relief  Work  Com- 
mittee were  at  least  equally  instructive. 


CHAPTER  V 

THE   BALTIMORE   FIRE1 

THE  Baltimore  fire  of  Sunday,  February  7,  1904,  and 
the  Monday  following  swept  over  an  area  estimated  to 
be  one  hundred  and  fifty  acres,  the  heart  of  the  business 
section.  Over  thirteen  hundred  buildings  were  destroyed 
and  probably  four  thousand  firms,  corporations,  or  indi- 
viduals were  burned  out.  Many  of  these  went  into  new 
locations  at  once;  some  reduced  their  working  force; 
some  ceased  to  do  business,  for  the  time  at  least.  No 
residence  section  was  burned,  but  a  few  families,  chiefly 
Hebrew  and  Italian,  were  driven  from  their  homes.  A 
good  many  lodging-houses  were  swept  away,  including 
some  that  had  long  been  unsanitary  shelters  of  homeless 
and  depraved  persons.  All  this  came  suddenly  toward 
the  close  of  an  unusually  cold  winter,  when  there  had 
been  an  unusual  amount  of  illness. 

The  fire  began  Sunday  noon,  and  was  not  wholly  under 
control  until  Monday  afternoon.  At  noon  Monday,  one 
hundred  or  more  leading  citizens  met  at  the  ma}ror's 
office.  Little  that  was  definite  could  be  said  or  done 
about  rehabilitation.  The  talk  turned  to  the  question  of 
distress  and  its  relief.  A  member  of  the  legislature 
promised  that  the  state  would  give  a  large  sum  ;  a  mem- 
ber of  congress  suggested  that  the  -national  government 
be  asked  for  $1,000,000.  Other  cities  were  pledg- 
ing aid.  A  few  cool  heads,  saying  that  no  residence 
section  had  been  burned,  urged  that  there  was  time  to 
ascertain  first  what  the  needs  were,  before  deciding  how 

1  This  account  of  the  work  of  the  Citizens'  Relief  Committee  of  Balti- 
more is  condensed  but  slightly  from  an  article  contributed  by  Dr.  Jeffrey 
R.  Brackett  to  Charities  of  June  4,  1904.  Dr.  Brackett  was  not  only  pres- 
ident of  the  Board  of  Supervisors  of  City  Charities,  and  a  manager  of  the 
Charity  Organization  Society,  but  was  chairman  of  the  Relief  Committee. 

432 


CHAP,  v  LITTLE   IMMEDIATE  DISTRESS  433 

to  meet  them  and  with  what  amounts.  These  cool  heads 
were  openly  criticised  by  some  as  having  cold  hearts. 
But  the  meeting  adjourned  without  action  in  this  matter. 
The  mayor  was  the  key  to  the  situation,  and  he,  although 
he  had  been  under  a  great  strain  for  twenty-four  hours, 
was  calm  and  clear-headed,  evidently  disposed  to  agree 
with  the  cooler  heads.  As  to  the  offers  of  aid  for  relief 
of  distres.8  which  came  from  many  sources  without  the 
city,  the  mayor  did  no  more  than  courteously  to  acknowl- 
edge them  ;  such  sums  as  were  sent  he  placed  in  his  safe, 
to  be  used  later  as  needed.  He  conferred  at  once,  how- 
ever, with  several  leaders  in  charity  work,  including  the 
head  of  the  city  department  of  charities  and  correction, 
who  were  watching  conditions.  Meantime,  some  very 
inflammatory  reports  as  to  conditions  of  distress  were 
being  circulated,  especially  outside  of  Baltimore.  Several 
of  them  came  from  well-meaning  but  injudicious  religious 
workers.  One  of  them  was  that  homeless  men  and  even 
casual  laborers  from  the  lodging-houses  burned  were 
unable  to  find  shelter.  For  one  night  only,  the  Friendly 
Inn,  a  large  and  well-regulated  temporary  home  for  home- 
less men,  used  by  the  city  for  applicants  to  its  offices,  a 
house  where  food  and  shelter  and  a  bath  must  be  earned 
by  work,  had  had  a  good  many  beds  filled,  but  none  had 
had  to  be  turned  away  ;  three  nights  after  the  fire,  there 
were  nearly  one  hundred  vacant  beds.  Strict  orders 
were  issued  by  the  marshal  of  police  to  the  captains  to 
arrest  all  persons  begging  on  the  streets  as  fire  sufferers, 
and  word  was  passed  among  the  lodging-houses  that  per- 
sons who  had  no  business  in  town  had  better  leave.  The 
mayor  was  soon  informed  that  for  homeless  men  no 
special  measures  were  required  ;  that  the  existing  chari- 
table agencies  for  dealing  with  homeless  men  could  and 
should  deal  with  all  such  persons. 

As  to  residents,  the  mayor  was  soon  informed  that 
there  was  not  then  any  such  amount  of  unusual  destitu- 
tion as  to  call  for  unusual  measures  for  immediate  relief. 
The  few  families  who  had  been  burned  out  had  already 
been  cared  for  without  delay  and  without  publicity,  by 
neighbors  and  friends,  or  by  the  regular  well-organized 
charities  of  the  city.  While  the  leaders  in  charitable 

2F 


434  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  iv 

work  were  sure  of  this  condition,  no  one  ventured,  of 
course,  to  prophesy  what  the  extent  of  real  distress  caused 
by  the  fire  would  be,  or  how  much  money  would  be  needed 
to  meet  it.  The  existing  charities  had  been  hard  worked 
since  autumn.  While  there  was  no  immediate  and  great 
increase  in  pressure,  all  believed  that  there  would  be 
some  unusual  distress  due  to  the  fire  which  their  regular 
workers  and  their  usual  income  could  hardly  meet.  The 
immediate  question  with  their  leaders  was,  should  any  ex- 
traordinary measures  be  taken  for  relieving  in  their  homes 
persons  who  might  soon  become  in  actual  need  because 
of  the  fire.  The  judgment  was  that  there  was  not  need 
of  any  new  mechanism  for  the  administration  of  relief 
then,  but  that  a  large  and  representative  relief  committee 
had  better  be  appointed  by  the  mayor,  in  order  to  receive 
funds  for  the  unusual  demand,  to  decide  what  agencies 
should  be  used  for  administering  relief,  and  to  give  confi- 
dence to  the  community  that  what  needed  to  be  done 
would  be  well  done.  Such  a  committee  was  appointed 
and  organized  February  13,  the  Saturday  after  the  fire. 
The  president  of  the  Department  of  Charities  and  Cor- 
rection was  made  its  chairman,  and  a  small  executive 
committee  was  appointed  to  carry  out  all  details.  This 
consisted  of  two  lawyers,  two  business  men,  and  the  chair- 
man. They  were  all  comparatively  young  men ;  three 
of  them  were  actively  interested  in  the  work  of  the  Char- 
ity Organization  Society  ;  one  was  president  of  the  visit- 
ors to  the  jail. 

The  Citizens'  Committee  adopted  and  pronounced  the 
following  policy :  There  should  be  a  clear  understanding 
by  all  that  the  relief  was  to  meet  actual  need,  to  secure 
the  necessaries  of  living,  and  was  not  merely  a  reimburse- 
ment against  losses  by  the  fire.  Persons  in  need  were 
expected  to  try  every  resource  available  before  applying 
for  it.  It  might  be  in  the  form  of  a  gift  or  loan,  in  order 
to  start  needy  persons  anew  in  occupations  by  which  they 
could  probably  earn  a  living.  Secondly,  in  so  far  as  the 
fire  sufferers  might  be  persons  who  had  already  been 
aided  by  existing  charities,  they  should  be  referred  for 
further  aid  to  those  charities  ;  the  charities  being  reim- 
bursed if  necessary.  As  some  of  the  suffering  would  fall 


CHAP,  v  POLICY  OF  THE   COMMITTEE  436 

upon  persons  who  had  never  been  aided,  as  some  who 
would  suffer  most  would  be  the  last  to  make  their  needs 
known,  the  methods  of  administering  relief  should  be 
such,  as  far  as  possible,  as  to  avoid  publicity.  The  hope 
of  the  committee  was  that,  unless  unusual  measures  were 
found  to  be  absolutely  necessary,  its  work  of  relief  could 
be  left  to  responsible  charities.  It  believed  that  any 
unusual  machinery  if  created  would  only  cause  confusion, 
duplicate  agencies,  and  increase  applications  for  aid.  The 
churches  and  other  bodies  were  expected  to  do  much  of 
themselves.  The  committee  believed  that  many  persons 
in  need  could  best  be  cared  for  by  those  who  knew  well 
their  language  and  ways  of  living —  Hebrews  by  Hebrews, 
Italians  by  Italians,  Germans  by  Germans. 

In  accordance  with  these  principles,  the  executive 
committee  was  instructed  to  use  the  well-known,  well- 
organized  charities  as  agencies  for  the  committee,  the 
charities  being  reimbursed,  in  so  far  as  they  might  ask 
it,  for  material  relief  given  or  extra  services  rendered 
because  of  the  fire,  in  the  approval  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee. That  committee  was  empowered  also,  if  it 
deemed  such  action  best,  to  deal  directly,  by  gift  or  loan, 
with  any  cases  of  need.  It  took  into  its  employ,  there- 
fore, three  persons  —  a  clerk  and  bookkeeper,  who  should 
also  act  as  visitor,  if  needed,  another  man  to  give  all  his 
time  to  visiting,  and  a  stenographer.  This  remained, 
practically,  the  full  office  force. 

From  the  beginning,  there  was  hope  that  men  who  had 
been  accustomed  to  laboring  might  be  placed  at  work  in 
cleaning  up  the  burnt  district,  work  on  a  business  basis, 
under  the  proper  city  officials.  But  the  opportunity  for 
such  work  for  a  considerable  number  of  men  never  came. 
As  a  matter  of  fact,  there  are  always  a  number  of  labor- 
ing men  out  of  work  in  winter,  and  many  of  those  who 
were  seeking  work  were  much  more  needy  than  most  of 
those  who  had  just  lost  work  by  the  fire.  The  State  Free 
Employment  Bureau,  located  in  Baltimore,  seemed  a 
proper  agency  to  which  persons  asking  merely  for  employ- 
ment might  be  sent.  Its  use  was  urged  upon  employers, 
also. 

The  executive  committee  had  to  see  at  once  that  the 


436  PRINCIPLES  OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

leading  charities,  which  it  wished  to  use  for  most  appli- 
cants, were  prepared  to  deal  with  them,  to  relieve  needs 
promptly,  adequately,  and  without  publicity.  On  Sun- 
day the  14th,  the  chairman  addressed  a  large  meeting 
of  members  of  the  Hebrew  Benevolent  Society.  It  had 
been  for  years  the  one  large  general  agency  for  relieving 
Jews,  but  one  or  two  smaller  bodies  had  undertaken  work 
in  the  eastern  part  of  the  city.  All  were  now  urged  to 
work  together  under  one  representative  committee  with 
which  the  Citizens'  Relief  Committee  could  promptly 
deal.  They  were  urged,  also,  to  receive  applications  in 
writing,  so  that  persons  who  hesitated  to  apply  need  not 
come  to  any  public  place,  and  to  have  inquiries  made  in 
the  homes  of  the  needy.  These  requests  were  met  with 
enthusiasm.  The  next  day  a  representative  committee 
came  to  the  City  Hall  stating  that  they  were  prepared 
to  deal  in  future  with  all  Jewish  applicants,  according  to 
particular  needs,  in  the  ways  indicated.  The  society  had, 
since  the  fire,  been  relieving  and  caring  for  a  considerable 
number  of  burned-out  families,  and  for  all  such  unusual 
expenses,  over  and  above  its  receipts  for  fire  sufferers  from 
citizens,  it  was  promptly  reimbursed.  A  number  of  Ital- 
ian families  had  already  gone  to  the  Italian  Consul,  ask- 
ing for  aid,  and  he  and  several  leading  Italians  were 
planning  to  form  a  relief  committee  when  the  represen- 
tative of  the  ma}^or's  committee  called  upon  them  in  turn 
that  Sunday  afternoon.  The  next  day,  also,  they  reported 
at  the  City  Hall  the  formation  of  such  a  relief  committee 
whose  members  were  willing  to  give  much  time  and 
thought  to  dealing  with  fire  sufferers  of  their  own  people. 
They  were  told  to  go  ahead  at  once,  to  relieve  in  the 
same  way  as  the  Hebrew  society,  with  promise  of  reim- 
bursement for  necessary  outlay.  On  the  same  Sunday 
night  a  special  meeting  of  the  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  Society 
was  held,  and  its  workers  in  the  twenty  and  more  con- 
ferences throughout  the  city  promised  to  give  prompt 
attention  to  fire  sufferers.  The  German  society  agreed 
to  cooperate  also.  Thus  the  committee  was  soon  able 
to  publish  in  all  the  leading  papers  the  following  adver- 
tisement together  with  the  names  and  addresses  of  the 
leading  charities,  headed  by  the  two  large  general  ones  — 


CHAP,  v         COOPERATION  OF  EXISTING  AGENCIES  437 

the  Association  for  the  Improvement  of  the  Condition  of 
the  Poor  and  the  Charity  Organization  Society,  working 
together  as  the  Federated  Charities,  which  maintain  a 
general  application  bureau  in  a  central  location,  eight  dis- 
trict offices,  and  fourteen  agents  in  the  field  :  — 

44  The  Executive  Committee  of  the  Mayor's  Advisory 
Committee  as  to  the  relief  of  need  owing  to  the  fire, 
wishes  to  announce  to  the  public,  on  behalf  of  the  leading 
charitable  agencies  to  which  it  is  referring  persons  for 
relief,  that  persons  in  need  because  of  the  fire,  who  have 
never  had  to  ask  charitable  aid,  are  not  required  to  make 
applications  at  any  public  office,  but  may  state  their  needs 
in  writing  through  the  mail  to  those  charities,  and  inquiries 
which  may  then  be  made  will  be  made  by  visitors  of  the 
charities,  in  the  homes,  without  publicity. 

"  Applications  in  such  cases  may  also  be  made  in  writing 
to  Jeffrey  R.  Brackett,  chairman,  City  Hall,  who  will  see 
that  they  receive  prompt  attention.  The  relation  of  the 
need  to  the  fire  should  be  plainly  shown. 

44  The  charities  are  expected  by  the  Citizens'  Committee 
to  act  promptly,  employing  extra  visitors  if  necessary  for 
the  purpose  ;  and,  if  relief  in  unusual  amounts  is  found 
to  be  necessary  in  order  to  remove  causes  of  need,  the 
charities  are  expected  to  spend  whatever  sums  are  really 
needed  for  adequate  relief,  in  gifts  or  loans." 

All  these  charities  went  to  work  more  actively  than 
ever,  the  Federated  Charities  employing  several  extra 
agents.  One  of  these  was  kindly  loaned  by  the  Washing- 
ton society,  and  one  who  had  formerly  been  an  agent  in 
Baltimore  returned  from  New  York. 

With  all  these  agencies  at  work,  and  able  to  deal 
promptly  with  applicants  who  came  directly  to  them  or 
were  sent  to  them  b}7  the  relief  committee,  that  committee 
had  its  hands  full  during  the  following  week  in  dealing 
with  a  number  of  benevolent  individuals,  organizations, 
and  clubs,  all  wishing  to  do  something  for  fire  sufferers. 
To  convince  some  benevolent  persons  that  there  was  no 

?reat   pressure   of   destitution,  was   a  hard  task  indeed, 
et  most  careful  inquiries  which  were   made   from    day 
to  day  of  various  beneficial  orders,  of  clergymen,  of  the 
Salvation  Army,  of  several  deaconess'  houses,  of  the  visit- 


438  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

ing  nurses,  and  others  not  directly  connected  with  the 
charities  used,  showed  that  there  was  no  rush  of  appli- 
cants and  no  cause  for  further  machinery  for  relief. 
Several  of  the  agencies  reporting  had  had  no  applications 
from  fire  sufferers.  The  three  stations  of  the  Salvation 
Army  in  Baltimore  had  had  very  few  applications,  and 
had  referred  those  promptly  to  the  usual  charitable  agen- 
cies. One  Baltimore  clergyman  of  many  years'  experi- 
ence in  a  large  parish,  mostly  of  persons  of  little  means, 
knew  of  some  two  hundred  families  with  a  member  or 
members  out  of  work  because  of  the  fire,  but  careful 
inquiry  which  he  made  brought  to  light  six  families 
only  believed  to  be  in  immediate  need,  and  only  three  of 
these  were  burned  out.  The  family  which  he  believed 
to  be  most  in  need  had  refused  his  offers  of  aid,  on  the 
ground  that  they  were  able  to  get  on  so  far  without  it. 
The  others  he  had  referred  to  the  Charity  Organization 
Society  or  to  the  German  Society.  Some  of  the  results 
of  these  careful  inquiries  were  almost  amusing.  Two 
religious  agencies  which,  the  day  of  the  fire,  had  spread 
inflammatory  reports  of  dire  distress,  were  called  on  one 
week  after  the  fire.  One  had  not  heard  of  a  single  case 
of  suffering  ;  the  other  had  heard  of  several  but  had  felt 
doubtful  whether  they  were  bona  fide  sufferers,  and  had 
referred  them  gladly  to  the  proper  agencies.  One  so-called 
missionary,  who  had  written  to  a  prominent  citizen  a  plea 
for  funds  for  "  suffering  ones,"  when  asked  to  the  office  of 
the  committee,  in  order  that  the  committee  might  see  that 
the  families  were  relieved,  named  only  one  family  which 
he  wished  the  committee  to  aid,  and  that  was  found,  on  a 
prompt  inquiry,  to  be  in  no  way  needy,  because  the  wage- 
earner  was  again  at  work  for  the  same  wages  received 
before. 

There  were  very  cheering  reports  from  a  number  of 
societies  and  beneficial  orders.  The  Royal  Arcanum  wrote 
that  all  needy  members  would  be  relieved.  Leaders  of  the 
Federation  of  Labor,  at  its  regular  meeting  ten  days  after 
the  fire,  had  no  unusual  distress  to  report,  declared  that 
they  would  try  to  look  out  for  their  own  members  who 
might  become  needy,  and  voted  to  return  to  the  federa- 
tion of  Washington,  with  their  thanks,  a  check  for  $100 


CHAP,  v  DIFFICULTY  IN   FINDING   SUFFERERS  439 

which  had  been  sent  over  for  the  fire  sufferers.  One  of 
their  leaders  was  on  the  Citizens'  Relief  Committee.  The 
chairman  of  the  committee  and  the  chairman  of  the  Charity 
Organization  Society  executive  committee  had  the  pleasure 
of  being  at  this  meeting  and  of  applauding  this  action  of 
the  federation.  The  Presbyterian  clergy  of  the  city  very 
promptly  appointed  a  special  committee  to  deal  with  cases 
of  need,  especially  those  arising  among  their  own  people 
in  congregations  with  limited  resources.  The  Baptist 
clergy  did  the  same.  In  order  to  give  further  publicity 
to  the  desire  of  the  committee  to  help  all  bona  fide  cases 
of  need,  and  to  utilize  every  helpful  agency  in  reaching 
the  needy,  representatives  of  all  the  religious  denomina- 
tions were  invited  to  a  meeting  in  the  mayor's  reception 
room.  Many  attended.  The  policy  of  the  committee  was 
talked  over,  and  the  clergy  were  asked  to  search  for  cases 
of  need,  especially  for  those  who  had  not  been  in  need 
before.  At  the  same  time  a  copy  of  the  following  circular 
letter  was  sent  out,  over  the  names  of  the  executive  com- 
mittee, to  three  hundred  and  twenty-five  ministers  and 
religious  leaders  :  — 

"  The  Mayor's  Advisory  Committee  on  relief  of  need 
due  to  the  fire,  in  promptly  announcing  to  the  public,  by 
advertisement  in  six  daily  papers,  the  addresses  of  the 
leading  charities,  stated  that  persons  in  need  because  of 
the  fire  who  have  never  applied  to  charitable  agencies,  are 
not  required  to  make  application  at  any  public  place,  but 
may  state  their  needs  in  writing  to  those  charities,  and 
that  inquiries  which  are  then  made  of  them  are  made  in 
their  homes,  without  publicity.  Announcement  was  made 
at  the  same  time  that  applications  in  such  cases  might  also 
be  made  to  the  chairman  of  the  committee,  J.  R.  Brackett, 
City  Hall,  in  writing,  plainly  showing  the  relation  of  the 
need  to  the  fire. 

"  The  committee  believes  that  the  ministers  and  leaders 
of  the  many  religious  bodies  in  our  city  will  find  out  the 
extreme  needs  of  some  persons  of  their  congregations  who 
will  still  hesitate  to  ask  aid.  It  believes,  too,  that  the 
congregations  of  all  denominations  will  strive  to  provide 
through  the  ministers  and  leaders  the  means  of  relief  for 
such  persons  ;  that  strong  congregations  will  come  to  the 


440  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

aid  of  any  weaker  ones,  whose  resources  are  not  equal  to 
the  demands  upon  them.  The  clergy  .of  several  denomi- 
nations have  already  taken  action  to  that  end. 

"  In  expressing  the  expectation  that  this  will  be  done 
generally,  the  committee  asks  that  cases  of  need  due  to 
the  fire  which  may  not  be  dealt  with  by  the  churches  shall 
be  referred  to  an  appropriate  charity  or  directly  to  the 
committee. 

"  One  suggestion  only  is  made  in  connection  with  reli- 
gious bodies  as  sources  of  aid  —  that  the  persons  aided  be 
really  known,  that  reasonable  pains  be  taken  to  see  that 
they  are  not  being  aided  at  the  same  time  by  others,  in 
order  that  there  may  be  the  truest  economy  of  energy  and 
money.  Such  economy  will  allow  relief,  when  given,  to 
be  more  adequate. 

"  The  committee  will  be  glad  to  be  of  service  in  any 
possible  way  to  the  ministers  and  leaders  of  the  religious 
bodies,  whose  part  in  the  relief  of  unusual  need  and 
great  distress  is  believed  to  be  so  valuable  to  the  whole 
community." 

An  inquiry  was  made  by  the  executive  committee  as  to 
the  need  of  the  establishment  of  a  special  agency  for 
making  loans  to  fire  sufferers  of  larger  amounts  than 
were  being  made  by  the  committee  itself,  which  were 
under  $200.  Correspondence  was  had  with  workers  .in 
other  cities,  and  the  decision  was  reached  that  no  new 
agency  had  better  be  established  for  larger  loans.  Balti- 
more has  an  excellent  chattel-loan  association  founded  by 
philanthropic  men,  but  strictly  on  business  principles. 

Thus  the  policy  as  to  methods  and  agencies  was  adopted 
and  carried  out.  The  only  modification  was  that  the  com- 
mittee dealt  directly  with  an  increased  number  of  cases. 
These  were  mostly  applications  for  sums  of  a  hundred 
dollars  or  more,  or  where  uniformity  in  treatment  was 
especially  desirable.  The  executive  committee  gave  hours 
to  oversight  of  details.  Through  a  system  of  frequent 
reports  the  committee  had  the  addresses  of  all  persons 
helped  by  the  various  agencies,  and  the  amounts  ex- 
pended. Duplication  was  thus  avoided  and  responsibility 
concentrated.  An  arrangement  was  made  with  a  woman 
of  refinement  and  experience  for  the  use  of  her  services, 


CHAP,  v  LOANS   AND   EMPLOYMENT  441 

if  desired,  as  visitor  to  women  applicants.  But  no  case 
arose  in  which  she  was  needed,  which  apparently  could 
not  properly  be  referred  to  the  charities,  especially  to  the 
Charity  Organization  Society,  whose  agents  are  women, 
or  be  dealt  with  by  a  member  of  the  executive  committee 
or  by  its  regular  visitors.  A  few  persons  found  fault 
with  the  committee,  but  the  majority  and  the  public 
press  either  spoke  helpfully  or  said  nothing.  One  or  two 
letters  and  published  communications  called  for  the  pro- 
vision of  work,  especially  work  for  persons  who  had  seen 
better  days,  but  no  suggestion  was  made  by  which  bona 
fide  employment  could  be  created  for  fire  sufferers,  with- 
out publicity,  which  could  be  considered  by  a  public  relief 
committee.  The  committee,  while  striving  to  avoid  pub- 
licity and  unnecessary  formalities  in  administration,  was 
opposed  to  methods  which  would  seem  to  recognize  an 
aristocracy  among  fire  sufferers,  or  an  aristocracy  of  fire 
sufferers  as  compared  with  respectable  persons  in  need 
because  of  causes  other  than  this  particular  fire,  whose 
only  source  of  relief,  now  or  later,  would  be  the  usual 
charitable  sources.  In  addition  to  the  charitable  agencies 
used,  as  already  stated,  the  Visiting  Nurse  Association  was 
employed  for  a  while  for  nursing  services  rendered  fami- 
lies with  illness  due  to  the  exposure  of  the  fire.  Also,  the 
State  Employment  Bureau  was  requested  to  use  tempo- 
rarily several  agents  in  trying  by  personal  interviews  with 
employers  to  get  places  for  applicants  to  the  bureau  who 
had  been  burned  out.  A  number  of  such  persons  asking 
of  the  committee  only  work,  not  relief,  were  visited  after 
an  interval  by  the  committee's  agents.  Of  two  hundred,  in 
round  numbers,  thirty  could  not  be  found,  nearly  a  third 
were  found  to  have  secured  work,  more  than  a  third  re- 
ported no  change  in  their  situation,  four  had  left  the  city, 
five  had  been  aided  already  with  material  relief,  and  only 
eight  said  that  they  then  needed  such  aid. 

If  the  first  strategic  point  to  be  won  was  the  adoption 
of  a  sound  policy  in  methods  of  administration,  the  second 
point  was  the  prevention  of  an  unwise  financial  policy. 
Opinions  differed  as  to  what  sources  of  money  for  relief 
were  best.  Citizens  were  ready  to  give ;  other  commu- 
nities were  sending  offers  of  aid.  But  the  mayor  set- 


442  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  iv 

tied  the  matter  of  outside  aid  by  saying  that  Maryland 
people  would  and  could  look  out  for  their  own.  A  bill 
was  soon  introduced  in  the  legislature,  then  in  session,  to 
appropriate  $250,000  for  relief  in  Baltimore,  after  pay- 
ment of  some  $40,000  from  it  for  the  militia  which  had 
served  at  the  fire.  Opinions  differed  widely  again  as  to 
whether  any  such  large  sum  could  be  needed.  But  the 
mayor  decided  not  to  attempt  to  change  the  bill,  especially 
as  the  expenditure  was  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  governor 
and  a  small  special  commission,  and  was  made  contingent 
only  upon  the  need,  and  as  the  members  of  the  commission 
were  known  to  desire  no  unnecessary  expenditure.  For 
nearly  six  weeks  after  its  organization  the  Citizens'  Relief 
Committee  did  its  work  on  money  quietly  borrowed,  in  an- 
ticipation of  action  by  the  state  ;  every  case  of  need  known 
of  and  believed  to  be  genuine  was  relieved ;  and  in  that 
time,  in  so  doing,  about  $10,000  only  was  expended. 

During  those  six  weeks  a  good  deal  had  been  learned 
by  many  persons  as  to  actual  conditions.  The  thousands 
and  thousands  reported  to  be  out  of  work  had  dwindled 
constantly.  Now,  the  estimate  of  the  state  bureau,  based 
on  returns  from  four  hundred  business  houses,  was  that 
not  over  four  thousand  persons  had  been  thrown  out  of 
work,  —  a  half  of  the  number  which  had  been  estimated 
three  weeks  before.  Of  the  eight  hundred  applications 
for  work  which  the  bureau  had  received  during  one  month 
after  the  fire,  one-quarter  only  had  given  the  fire  as  a 
cause.  Spring  was  at  hand.  Despite  the  delay  in  open- 
ing up  the  burned  district  for  improvement,  much  laboring 
work  was  beginning,  as  usual.  Activity  among  artisans 
would  probably  soon  be  great.  Those  who  were  now  suffer- 
ing by  the  fire  were  those  who  were  willing  to  suffer  in 
silence.  Many  persons  had  been  relieved  by  relatives  or 
churches  or  friends,  in  some  of  those  many  ways  which 
are  the  essence  of  true  charity. 

When,  finally,  the  papers  reported  that  the  bill  appro- 
priating a  quarter  million  of  dollars  for  relief  of  distress 
in  Baltimore  had  become  a  law,  somewhat  of  a  "  run  "  on 
the  committee  was  looked  for.  True,  forty  thousand  went 
to  the  militia,  and  another  forty  thousand  was  set  aside,  by 
law,  for  the  Johns  Hopkins  Hospital,  but  over  two-thirds 


CHAP,  v  SOURCES  OF   CONTRIBUTIONS  443 

was  left.  But  no  run  came.  The  key  to  the  situation 
here  was  largely,  as  it  had  been  at  the  other  strategic 
point,  the  good  sense  and  honesty  of  public  officials.  The 
governor,  like  the  mayor,  had  known  of  the  work  previ- 
ously done  by  the  well-organized  charities  of  Baltimore. 
Both  of  them  had  been  at  the  annual  public  meeting  of 
the  Federated  Charities  in  November.  The  governor  had 
intimated,  before  the  passage  of  the  bill,  that  the  Citizens' 
Relief  Committee  would  be  the  natural  advisers.  So  the 
work  went  on  quietly,  without  interruption.  That  the 
work  of  the  committee  and  the  state  appropriation  were 
not  given  more  publicity  in  the  daily  press  was  probably 
due  largely  to  the  exigencies  for  more  interesting  news 
of  the  fire  and  of  the  doings  of  the  legislators  at  Annapolis. 

The  total  of  families  assisted  up  to  the  last  week  in 
May,  in  fifteen  weeks  after  the  fire,  was  1058.  Of  these, 
by  far  the  largest  number  were  assisted  through  the 
Federated  Charities,  the  next  through  the  Hebrew  Benevo- 
lent Society.  The  Relief  Committee  assisted  directly 
about  one-eighth  of  all.  Aid  was  given  in  all  sorts  of 
ways,  in  food,  clothing,  tools,  transportation,  by  gifts  and 
loans,  and  of  value  ranging  from  $250  down.  Some- 
times it  had  to  be  given  cautiously  in  small  amounts 
and  repeated.  Some  persons  came  as  fire  sufferers  who 
had  been  well  known  to  the  charities  as  always  rather 
needy.  Usually,  when  the  person  was  well  known  as 
responsible  and  reasonably  resourceful,  one  considerable 
sum  would  be  given. 

The  total  of  money  spent  in  those  fifteen  weeks  was 
about  $21,600  only.  Somewhat  under  a  quarter  of  it  was 
spent  directly  by  the  committee  in  relief,  mostly  in  gifts, 
about  a  fifth  was  spent  through  the  Hebrew  Society, 
about  a  fifth  through  the  Italian  committee,  and  as  much 
through  the  Federated  Charities.  The  St.  Vincent  de 
Paul  Society  called  for  less  than  a  thousand  dollars; 
the  German  society  for  much  less  still.  The  expenses 
for  administration  all  told  were  under  $1900,  about 
one  thousand  being  spent  by  the  committee  directly,  and 
a  half  as  much  through  the  Federated  Charities.  It  was 
spent  in  saving  the  state  many  dollars  and  in  seeing  that 
relief  was  brought  intelligently  to  those  in  real  need. 


444  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  iv 

The  total  of  money  spent  for  fire  sufferers  from  all 
sources  cannot,  of  course,  be  told.  But  the  amounts 
received  by  the  charitable  agencies  from  sources  other 
than  the  Relief  Committee  were  not  large.  For  instance, 
the  Federated  Charities,  up  to  May  1,  spent  about  1600 
received  from  special  donations.  The  belief  that  the 
state  would  make  an  appropriation  cut  off  much  giving 
by  individuals.  Also,  some  persons  felt  that  charitable 
agencies,  losing  subscribers  because  of  the  fire,  would  need 
their  gifts  for  ordinary  work  in  the  future. 

If  there  are  lessons  to  be  learned  from  this  work  for 
emergency  relief,  they  are  indicated  in  the  story  itself. 
Stress  may  be  laid,  in  conclusion,  on  three.  First,  is  the 
value  of  having  public  officials  who  believe  that  enlight- 
ened administration  of  charity  is  a  part  of  good  govern- 
ment. Second,  is  the  value  in  charity  work  of  using  the 
experience  of  persons  and  agencies  of  experience  in  that 
work.  And  third,  and  most  of  all,  is  the  duty  of  protect- 
ing the  poor  from  patronage,  of  giving  opportunity  for 
expression  to  the  many  forms  of  aid,  from  relatives, 
churches,  friends,  etc.,  and  to  powers  of  self-help,  which 
in  times  of  need  show  the  real  "strength  of  the  people." 

The  Charities  Record,  the  publication  of  the  Baltimore 
Charity  Organization  Society,  in  closing  its  account  of  fire 
relief  work,  has  spoken  as  follows,  happily  and  justly:  — 

"  The  same  spirit  of  self-help  which  has  characterized 
the  mayor  and  his  advisers,  the  business  and  professional 
men  of  Baltimore,  in  meeting  this  disaster,  has  been  mani- 
fested by  the  working  people  who  have  shown  equal  cour- 
age and  commendable  independence.  Those  who  have  felt 
compelled  to  ask  for  help  have  for  the  most  part  done,  so 
only  through  stress  of  actual  necessity,  preferring  to  rely 
upon  their  own  efforts  rather  than  to  seek  assistance  even 
from  the  public  treasury.  When  the  history  of  the  city 
is  written  and  the  story  of  its  greatest  conflagration  is 
told,  no  episode  will  furnish  greater  cause  for  pride  to 
its  citizens,  present  and  future,  than  that  which  has 
demonstrated  the  courage  and  self-reliance  of  its  own 
people,  not  only  the  well-to-do,  but  those  dependent  upon 
regular  employment  for  their  daily  bread." 


CHAPTER  VI 

THE   "SLOCUM"   DISASTER 


BY  the  burning  and  sinking  of  the  General  Slocum,  a 
steamboat  of  the  Knickerbocker  Steamboat  Company,  in 
the  East  River  on  June  15,  1904,  958  persons  are  known 
to  have  lost  their  lives  ;  897  bodies  having  been  identified, 
and  61  buried  without  identification. 

The  boat  had  been  chartered  for  the  day  for  a  picnic  by 
the  Sunday  school  of  St.  Mark's  Evangelical  Church. 
The  majority  of  those  who  were  lost  were  of  German 
birth  or  descent,  communicants  of  the  Lutheran  Church, 
or  their  relatives  or  friends  ;  although,  as  tickets  had  been 
sold  by  members  of  the  Sunday  school  to  any  who  desired 
to  attend  the  picnic,  there  was  also  a  certain  represen- 
tation of  other  nationalities  and  of  other  religious  faiths. 
The  excursionists  were  mainly  women  and  children,  only 
nine  male  heads  of  families  having  been  known  to  be  lost, 
and  in  comparison  with  the  appalling  loss  of  life  there 
was  comparatively  little  loss  of  property.  This  was  con- 
fined practically  to  the  clothes  worn  by  those  on  board 
who  were  naturally  in  holiday  attire,  their  jewellery,  which 
was  valued  in  one  instance  at  $800,  and  the  money  and  bank 
books  carried  on  the  person  —  a  surprisingly  large  amount, 
estimated  by  the  coroner  to  amount  in  the  aggregate  to 
1200,000.  While  in  some  instances  the  mothers  or  older 
children  who  were  lost  in  the  disaster  were  wage-earners, 
even  this  was  the  exception  rather  than  the  rule,  many  of 
the  grown  daughters  in  the  families  affected  not  being 
engaged  in  wage-earning  occupations.  Two-thirds  of  the 

1  This  is  the  text  of  the  report  of  the  Citizens'  Relief  Committee  to 
Mayor  George  B.  McClellan,  of  which  committee  the  author  was  Acting 
Secretary  when  the  report  was  made  in  September,  1904,  on  the  conclusion 
of  the  active  work  of  the  Committee. 

445 


446  PRINCIPLES   OF  BELIEF  PART  iv 

families  subsequently  aided  in  the  burial  of  their  dead 
(255  families)  carried  insurance,  and  in  155  of  these 
families  the  amount  of  the  insurance  exceeded  the  total 
funeral  expenses.  In  the  case  of  five  other  families  there 
were  bank  accounts  which  supplemented  or  took  the  place 
of  insurance,  and  in  several  cases  the  amount  of  life  insur- 
ance obtained  was  upward  of  $1000. 

These  facts  indicate  clearly  that  the  families  affected 
by  the  disaster  were  self-supporting  and  in  many  instances 
prosperous  members  of  the  community,  not  likely  to  be- 
come dependent  upon  charitable  relief  even  when  over- 
taken by  unexpected  misfortune. 

Even  before  the  full  extent  of  the  calamity  had  been 
made  known,  generous  contributions  to  a  relief  fund  for 
the'  benefit  of  the  survivors  and  the  families  of  the  victims 
were  offered,  and  on  Thursday,  June  16,  Mayor  McClellan 
issued  the  following  proclamation  :  — 

"To  THE  CITIZENS  OF  NEW  YORK:  — 

"  The  appalling  disaster  yesterday,  by  which  more  than  five  hundred 
men,  women,  and  children  lost  their  lives  by  fire  and  drowning,  has 
shocked  and  horrified  our  city.  Knowing  the  keen  sympathy  of  the 
people  of  the  City  of  New  York  with  their  stricken  fellows,  I  have 
appointed  a  committee  of  citizens  to  receive  contributions  to  a  fund 
to  provide  for  the  fit  and  proper  burial  of  the  dead,  and  for  such  other 
relief  as  may  be  necessary. 

"  The  following  gentlemen  have  been  asked  to  serve  on  the  com- 
mittee :  — 

Morris  K.  Jesup,  Jos.  C.  Hendrix, 

Jacob  H.  Schiff,  Thomas  M.  Mulry, 

Herman  Bidder,  George  Ehret, 

Charles  A.  Dickey,  John  Fox, 

Robert  A.  Van  Cortlandt,  H.  B.  Scharmann, 

Erskine  Hewitt. 

"  Until  the  Committee  has  had  an  opportunity  to  organize,  I  shall 
be  glad  to  receive  contributions  at  the  Mayor's  office. 

"  As  a  sign  of  mourning  I  have  ordered  the  flags  on  the  City  Hall  to 
be  put  at  half-mast. 

"  GEORGE  B.  MCCLELLAN,  Mayor.'' 

On  the  following  day,  June  17,  the  committee  held  a 
meeting  at  12  o'clock  at  the  office  of  the  mayor,  at  which 
all  of  the  above-named  gentlemen  except  Messrs.  Ehret 
and  Jesup  were  present.  Herman  Ridder  was  duly  elected 
chairman  of  the  committee,  Jacob  Schiff,  treasurer,  and 


CHAP,  vi  ORGANIZATION  FOR   RELIEF  447 

John  C.  Breckinridge,  secretary.  It  was  then  further  de- 
cided to  appoint  a  sub-committee  to  undertake  the  active 
work  of  affording  relief  to  the  victims  of  the  Greneral  Slo- 
cum  disaster.  This  sub-committee  consisted  of  Messrs. 
Weinacht,  Scharmann,  Mulry,  Fox,  Van  Cortlandt,  and 
Hewitt,  and  also  the  officers  of  the  General  Committee  who 
should  be  ex-officio  members  of  the  sub-committee. 

The  meeting  thereupon  adjourned  sine  die,  and  the  ex- 
ecutive committee  immediately  had  its  first  meeting,  and 
organized  by  the  election  of  Mr.  Scharmann  as  chairman, 
and  A.  A.  Hill  of  the  Charity  Organization  Society  as 
secretary. 

The  following  were  subsequently  added  to  the  executive 
committee  :  Rev.  John  J.  Heischman,  Rev.  Jacob  W. 
Loch,  Rev.  E.  C.  J.  Krseling,  Rev.  H.  W.  Hoffman, 
William  H.  Allen,  H.  Cillis,  Edward  T.  Devine,  Julius 
Harburger,  Louis  W.  Kaufmann,  Louis  C.  Rsegener,  Inspec- 
tor Max  F.  Schmittberger,  Gustav  Straubenmiller.  A 
committee  was  also  appointed  from  the  board  of  alder- 
men, some  of  whom  attended  the  meetings  of  the  execu- 
tive committee  from  time  to  time,  and  its  chairman,  L.  W. 
Harburger,  was  made  vice-chairman  of  the  executive 
committee. 

Headquarters  were  opened  in  the  basement  of  St.  Mark's 
Church,  and  the  secretary  was  placed  in  full  executive 
charge  of  the  work  of  receiving  applications  for  relief,  mak- 
ing the  necessary  visits  and  inquiry  to  establish  their  bona 
fide  character,  and  carrying  into  effect  the  decisions  of  the 
committee.  The  committee  throughout  realized  and  at- 
tempted in  every  way  to  make  evident  to  those  with  whom 
it  was  dealing,  that  it  was  engaged  in  the  administration 
of  a  fund  which  was  not  a  charitable  relief  fund  in  the 
ordinary  sense,  but  a  generous  expression  of  heart-felt 
sympathy  on  the  part  of  the  community  toward  those  who 
had  been  sorely  stricken.  The  secretary  and  his  assistants 
displayed  in  every  way  a  personal  sympathy  for  the 
afflicted  ;  and,  although  there  were  irresponsible  charges 
to  the  contrary,  the  committee  is  confident  that  in  no  sin- 
gle instance  was  there  a  failure  to  attend  promptly  to 
emergent  needs,  or  harshness  toward  any  person  who  came 
to  the  committee  for  aid,  or  other  ground  for  just  com- 


448  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

plaint.  There  were  only  five  fraudulent  applications,  i.e. 
from  persons  who  were  in  no  way  affected  by  the  disas- 
ter ;  but  the  number  would  doubtless  have  been  much 
larger  if  it  had  not  been  understood  from  the  outset  that 
all  applications  would  be  carefully  investigated.  One 
woman  who  was  fraudulently  collecting  money  on  the  ground 
that  she  was  a  sufferer  was  arraigned  in  court  by  the 
Mendicancy  Officers  of  the  Charity  Organization  Society, 
convicted  of  obtaining  money  under  false  pretences,  and 
sentenced  to  one  year's  imprisonment. 

The  secretary  was  authorized  to  engage  whatever  visi- 
tors and  office  assistants  might  be  required;  the  largest 
number  at  work  at  any  one  time  was  twenty -nine,  includ- 
ing volunteers,  and  the  average  for  seven  weeks  over 
twelve.  The  secretary  himself,  however,  received  no 
financial  remuneration,  his  services  being  placed  at  the 
disposal  of  the  committee  by  the  Charity  Organization 
Society.  A  very  considerable  amount  of  volunteer  service 
was  also  supplied  by  the  New  York  Association  for  Im- 
proving the  Condition  of  the  Poor.  The  total  operating 
expenses  for  the  committee  for  the  seven  weeks  over 
which  its  active  work  extended  were  only  11062,  or  less 
than  one  percent  of  the  relief  fund  disbursed.  The  extraor- 
dinarily low  percentage  was  made  possible  only  by  the 
large  amount  of  expert  assistance  given  to  the  committee 
by  the  two  societies  named,  and  by  the  courtesy  of  the 
New  York  City  Mission  and  Tract  Society,  in  providing 
without  charge  commodious  offices  for  the  use  of  the 
committee  in  the  United  Charities  Building  after  the 
removal  of  its  headquarters  from  St.  Mark's  Church  on 
June  29. 

The  value  of  the  aid  rendered  by  the  organized  charities 
is  not,  however,  to  be  measured  merely  by  the  saving  in 
administrative  expenses.  It  was  through  this  cooperation 
that  the  relief  could  be  given  promptly  and  to  the  right 
persons,  the  element  of  imposition  eliminated  from  the 
beginning,  and  exact  knowledge  quickly  obtained  in 
regard  to  each  family  for  whom  the  committee  was  asked 
to  provide,  on  the  basis  of  which  action  could  be  taken  in 
accordance  with  its  own  best  judgment. 

Members  of  the  committee  also  gave  a  large  amount  of 


CHAP,  vi  METHODS   AND   POLICY  449 

time  to  its  work,  both  at  its  headquarters  and  in  their  own 
places  of  business  —  of  course  entirely  without  compensa- 
tion ;  and  in  the  illness  of  the  secretary  after  July  20, 
his  entire  duties  fell  upon  Edward  T.  Devine  of  the 
executive  committee.  Rev.  George  C.  F.  Haas,  pastor  of 
St.  Mark's  Church,  who  himself  lost  three  members  of  his 
family,  served  practically  as  a  member  of  the  committee, 
and  gave  at  every  step  invaluable  advice  and  cooperation. 

For  the  first  week  the  committee  held  daily  meetings, 
and  thereafter  met  at  frequent  intervals  for  the  considera- 
tion of  applications  for  relief  and  other  business.  In  each 
individual  case,  on  a  full  but  confidential  statement  of  the 
circumstances,  the  committee  decided  what  kind  and 
amount  of  assistance  to  give. 

Except  for  its  initiative  in  arranging  a  memorial  meet- 
ing in  Cooper  Union,  the  committee  limited  its  activities 
to  questions  of  relief.  It  gave  no  consideration  to  ques- 
tions relating  to  liability  for  the  accident,  to  claims  for 
pecuniary  damages,  to  rewards  for  personal  heroism  in  the 
rescues  of  June  15,  or  to  any  of  the  other  aspects  of  the 
disaster  in  which  the  public  has  naturally  been  interested. 
It  will  be  remembered  that  by  the  terms  of  the  mayor's 
original  proclamation  the  committee  was  appointed  "  to 
receive  contributions  to  a  fund  for  the  fit  and  proper 
burial  of  the  dead,  and  for  such  other  relief  as  may  be 
necessary."  The  burial  expenses  of  those  whose  bodies 
were  recovered  have  been  in  fact  the  principal  item  in  the 
disbursements  —  almost  exactly  two-thirds  of  the  fund 
having  been  used  for  this  purpose. 

Until  it  was  definitely  known  what  other  relief  would  be 
necessary  the  committee  felt  warranted  in  paying  funeral 
bills  in  full  only  in  cases  in  which  the  families  affected 
did  not  have  other  resources.  If,  therefore,  there  was  in- 
surance sufficient  to  meet  the  funeral  expenses,  or  if  there 
remained  in  the  family  any  one  of  independent  means,  the 
funeral  expenses  were  not  paid  by  the  committee,  or  were 
paid  only  in  part.  The  committee  finally  fixed  upon  a 
date,  July  21,  after  which  further  applications  could  not 
be  considered,  and  within  a  few  days  thereafter  full  infor- 
mation was  at  hand  on  which  could  be  based  an  accurate 
forecast  of  the  provision  required  for  orphan  children, 


450  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

aged  persons,  widows,  or  others  left  to  any  extent  depend- 
ent by  the  disaster. 

The  number  of  such  persons  proved  to  be  much  less 
than  many  had  anticipated,  and  after  setting  aside  what 
was  considered  an  adequate  amount  for  all  of  them,  there 
remained  a  sufficient  sum  to  pay  in  full  all  funeral  bills 
which  in  the  judgment  of  the  committee  could  properly, 
even  on  the  most  liberal  basis,  be  met  from  the  funds  at 
its  disposal. 

On  August  5,  a  meeting  was  held  at  which  it  was  ascer- 
tained that  about  185,000  had  been  paid  or  authorized  to 
be  paid  for  burials  and  other  forms  of  relief,  and  that 
$20,000  would  be  required  to  meet  the  future  needs  of 
those  who  had  been  made  to  some  extent  dependent  by 
the  disaster,  or  had  suffered  so  severely  as  to  justify  an 
appropriation  in  their  behalf,  leaving  a  balance  of  some- 
thing over  $15,000  unappropriated.  In  reference  to  the 
balance  remaining  in  the  hands  of  the  treasurer,  and  the 
$20,000  already  set  aside  for  the  future  care  of  individual 
families  made  dependent  by  the  disaster,  the  committee 
then  adopted  the  following  resolutions  :  — 

"Resolved:  that  whenever  the  character  and  the  circumstances  of 
the  family  are  such  as  to  justify  such  action,  immediate  payment  of 
the  amount  authorized  by  the  Committee  shall  be  made  by  an  order 
on  the  Treasurer. 

"That  in  the  case  of  such  families  as  should  receive  weekly  or 
monthly  payments,  such  payments  shall  be  made  through  St.  Mark's 
Evangelical  Lutheran  Church,  —  an  order  on  the  Treasurer,  in  favor 
of  St.  Mark's  Church,  being  drawn,  sufficient  to  cover  such  payments 
as  have  been  authorized  by  the  Committee. 

"  That  a  special  committee,  consisting  of  Messrs.  Bidder,  Schar- 
mann,  and  Straubenmiller,  be  appointed  to  have  a  general  oversight 
of  such  weekly  and  monthly  payments  on  behalf  of  the  Citizens' 
Relief  Committee,  and  that  such  special  committee  shall  have  power 
to  authorize  any  modifications  of  such  grants  as  may  seem  to  them, 
from  time  to  time,  advisable. 

"That  the  balance  remaining  after  such  payments  as  are  above 

reified  have  been  made,  shall  be  held  by  the  Treasurer,  subject  to 
order  of  the  special  committee  above  named,  to  care  for  any  of  the 
families  from  whom  application  was  made  prior  to  July  21,  if  in  their 
opinion  any  further  action  in  behalf  of  such  families  is  required. 

"  That  after  July  15, 1905,  any  remaining  balance  still  in  the  hands 
of  the  Treasurer  may  be  disposed  of  by  the  special  committee  above 
named  in  such  manner  as  may  be  approved  by  the  Mayor  of  the  City 
of  New  York." 


CHAP,  vi  FINAL  RESOLUTIONS  451 

For  the  small  number  of  Roman  Catholic  families  in- 
cluded in  the  list  of  beneficiaries  it  was  arranged  that  the 
payments  should  be  made  through  Thomas  M.  Mulry, 
president  of  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul. 

In  accordance  with  the  resolutions  the  sum  of  $15,750 
has  been  turned  over  to  a  special  committee  of  St.  Mark's 
Church  appointed  to  receive  this  sum  in  trust  for  the 
families  specified,  and  11500  to  Mr.  Mulry  for  two  fami- 
lies, the  remainder  of  the  120,000  having  been  paid  directly 
to  the  families  for  whom  it  was  intended. 

The  number  of  families  aided  by  the  committee  was  437, 
which  is  three-fourths  of  the  590  families  known  to  have 
been  represented  on  the  General  Slocum  at  the  time  of  the 
disaster. 

The  25  per  cent  who  were  not  aided  by  the  committee 
were  those  who  were  in  better  circumstances,  or  those 
who  suffered  least ;  and  very  few  of  them  made  any  appli- 
cation for  aid.  Only  a  little  more  than  half  (54  per  cent) 
of  those  who  were  not  aided  lost  even  one  member  of  the 
family,  while  92  per  cent  of  those  who  were  aided  lost 
one  or  more  by  death.  In  the  437  families  aided  by  the 
committee,  there  were  before  the  disaster  1913  persons, 
about  two-thirds  of  whom  were  on  the  excursion.  Of  these 
110  were  injured,  61  were  buried  unidentified,  723  were  re- 
covered, identified,  and  buried,  leaving  only  1019,  or  53  per 
cent  of  the  whole,  uninjured  —  and  of  these  1019  survivors 
probably  less  than  one-fifth  had  been  on  the  excursion. 
Besides  this  frightful  loss  of  life  the  families  suffered  inde- 
scribably by  shock,  anxiety,  and  grief,  to  an  extent  which  no 
statistics  can  represent.  The  numbers  themselves  are  never- 
theless an  indication  of  the  ravages  which  the  little  com- 
munity sustained  and  which  were  the  more  severe  because 
they  were  in  many  instances  united  by  ties  of  blood-rela- 
tionship as  well  as  by  those  of  religion  and  nativity. 

The  number  of  persons  lost  in  the  437  families  was  784. 
Of  these,  nine  were  male  heads  of  families,  191  were  mothers, 
30  were  wives  without  children,  155  were  children  of  wage- 
earning  age  (not  necessarily  wage-earners),  356  were  chil- 
dren under  fourteen  years  of  age,  31  were  adults  living 
with  relatives,  eighteen  of  whom  were  grandparents,  seven 
were  women  living  alone,  and  five  were  single  men. 


452  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

These  numbers  would  indicate  that  the  immediate  eco- 
nomic loss  was  comparatively  insignificant,  —  only  twenty 
per  cent  of  the  whole  number  lost  being  present  wage- 
earners.  The  actual  loss,  however,  was  much  greater. 
Many  of  the  children  would  have  become  wage-earners  in 
a  few  years.  Others  not  actually  employed  could  have 
become  wage-earners  in  case  of  necessity ;  and  many  who 
were  not  on  the  excursion  lost  valuable  time  from  their 
business  or  occupation,  searching  for  the  dead,  or  even 
prostrated  by  illness  or  anxiety.  Elder  daughters  were  in 
some  instances  compelled  to  give  up  employment  on  the 
death  of  a  mother,  and  the  fathers  of  families  found  their 
expenses  greatly  increased  by  the  death  or  injury  of  their 
wives. 

One  hundred  and  twenty  men  lost  their  entire  family 
by  the  disaster.  Of  these,  twenty-nine  lost  wife  only ; 
thirty-nine  lost  wife  and  one  child;  thirty-two,  wife  and 
two  children;  ten,  wife  and  three  children;  three,  wife  and 
four  children ;  and  one,  wife  and  five  children ;  two  widow- 
ers lost  each  two  children,  and  one  widower,  four  children, 
while  the  remaining  three  of  the  120  men  left  alone  as  the 
result  of  the  disaster  lost  other  relatives  with  whom  they 
were  living.  Twenty-one  men,  whose  wives  and  one  or 
more  children  were  lost,  were  left  with  one  child  under 
fourteen ;  and  eleven  others  were  left  with  more  than  one 
small  child,  having  lost  wife  and  one  or  more  children. 

Forty-one  men  were  left  with  children  over  fourteen, 
having  lost  wife  or  children  or  both.  There  were  seventy- 
nine  families  in  which  only  dependent  members  were  taken, 
while  there  were  thirty-nine  families  in  which  one  or  more 
wage-earning  children  were  lost,  although  not  the  father 
or  mother.  Only  two  women  were  left  alone,  one  of  whom 
lost  her  husband  and  her  only  child.  Three  women  who 
lost  their  husbands  were  left  with  from  three  to  five  chil- 
dren each,  but  in  two  of  these  families  there  were  adult 
unmarried  sons  or  daughters. 

Among  the  437  families  there  were  sixty-three  who  were 
already  widows  with  children,  and  ten  mothers  who  had 
been  deserted  by  their  husbands.  In  forty  of  these 
seventy-three  families  no  particular  need  resulted  from  the 
disaster  aside  from  the  expense  of  burials.  In  one  instance 


CHAP,  vi  EFFECTS   OF  THE   DISASTER  453 

the  mother  was  lost  with  her  only  child,  and  in  another 
with  her  entire  family  of  five  children,  all  of  whom  were 
under  twelve  years  of  age.  In  twenty  instances  only  de- 
pendent children  were  taken ;  and  in  eighteen  others  the 
mother  was  taken  with  one  or  more  children,  but  only  self- 
supporting  children  were  left.  In  thirty-three  of  the  cases 
of  widows  or  deserted  wives  there  was  such  economic  loss 
as  to  make  apparent  a  need  for  aid  in  addition  to  that  given 
in  burials,  either  because  dependent  children  were  left  with 
relatives  in  moderate  circumstances,  or  because  the  income 
of  the  family  was  reduced  or  entirely  cut  off  by  the  loss  of 
one  or  more  wage-earning  children. 

In  all  there  were  twelve  families  in  which,  as  a  result  of 
the  disaster,  orphan  children  were  left.  Seven  of  these 
were  families  of  widows  or  deserted  wives,  and  have 
therefore  already  been  accounted  for  under  that  heading. 
The  children  left  orphans  in  these  twelve  families  numbered 
twenty-seven ;  in  six  cases  there  was  only  one  child  left, 
in  two  cases  two,  in  one  case  each  three  and  four,  and  in 
two  cases  five.  Fifteen  of  the  twenty-seven  were  under 
fifteen  years  of  age;  and  two  others,  although  of  adult 
years,  were  defectives,  and  for  that  reason  dependent.  The 
other  ten  orphans  were  over  fifteen  years  of  age,  and  in 
most  cases  self-supporting.  With  one  or  two  exceptions, 
the  children  who  were  made  orphans  by  the  disaster  were 
found  to  be  with  relatives  who  were  in  position  to  give  them 
suitable  care.  Two  children  were  placed  in  institutions 
temporarily  for  special  reasons,  with  a  grant  of  money  from 
the  committee,  and  it  was  not  deemed  advisable  or  necessary 
to  accept  any  of  the  numerous  generous  offers  of  foster- 
homes  which  were  received  by  the  committee. 

Of  the  437  families  there  were  twenty-six  in  which 
physical  injuries  or  money  losses  only  were  sustained,  but 
in  which  there  were  no  deaths. 

The  above  analysis  accounts  for  420  of  the  families  aided 
by  the  committee.  Of  the  remainder,  twelve  were  men  or 
women  living  alone,  and  with  no  one  immediately  depend- 
ent upon  them,  and  five  were  families  in  which  collateral 
relatives  had  been  lost,  and  little  help  was  required  aside 
from  the  payment  of  funeral  bills. 

The  committee  buried   705  persons  belonging  to   388 


454  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  iv 

different  families,  at  an  expense  of  $81,279.99.  The  aver- 
age cost  of  each  funeral  was  1115.29  —  the  minimum  $16, 
and  the  maximum  1331.50.  Medical  attendance  and 
supplies  were  furnished  to  38  families  at  an  expense  of 
$1,264.17.  Temporary  aid  was  given  to  133  families  to 
the  amount  of  $  2,042. 58.  Transportation  was  provided  for 
two  persons  costing  $125,  one  of  whom  was  sent  to  take 
a  position  in  Chicago  and  the  other  to  his  father's  home 
in  Russia.  Fourteen  persons  were  reimbursed  for  the  loss 
of  clothing,  musical  instruments,  etc.,  at  an  outlay  of 
$571.65,  and  a  tugboat  injured  in  rescue  work  was  re- 
paired at  a  cost  of  $60.48.  To  care  for  dependent  chil- 
dren and  adults  in  39  families  appropriations  of  $18,281 
were  required,  and  $3520  was  expended  to  assist  28  ad- 
ditional families  in  necessary  readjustment  after  the  loss 
of  a  wage-earner  or  because  of  illness  or  loss  of  work 
consequent  on  the  disaster.  There  was  expended  for  the 
Cooper  Union  Memorial  Mass  Meeting  the  sum  of  $275, 
and  the  operating  expenses  were  $1062. 

The  total  contributions  to  the  relief  fund,  as  shown  in 
the  report  of  the  treasurer,  were  $124,205.80.  The  board 
of  aldermen  had  indicated  its  willingness  to  appropriate 
$50,000  for  relief;  but  on  June  27  the  executive  com- 
mittee, after  full  deliberation,  announced  to  the  public 
press  that  further  contributions  would  not  be  required, 
and  at  the  same  time  officially  notified  the  board  of  alder- 
men that  the  appropriation  would  not  be  needed.  As 
early  as  June  21,  when  the  contributions  amounted  to  over 
$60,000,  Jacob  H.  Schiff,  the  treasurer,  had  expressed  the 
opinion  in  a  letter  to  the  chairman  that  the  amount  received 
should  suffice  for  the  purpose  for  which  the  committee  had 
been  called  into  existence ;  but  the  resolution  closing  the 
subscription  fund  was  deferred  six  days  longer  in  order 
not  to  lay  the  committee  open  to  the  charge  of  premature 
action. 

There  are  those  who  have  felt  considerable  apprehension 
over  the  possible  effect  of  the  collection  and  disbursement 
of  so  large  a  relief  fund  for  the  benefit  of  families  not  in 
really  destitute  circumstances.  The  committee  did  not  con- 
sider that  it  was  at  liberty  to  expend  this  money  otherwise 
than  for  the  direct  pecuniary  benefit  of  those  for  whom  it  had 


CHAP,  vi  THE   RELIEF  FUND  466 

been  subscribed.  There  were,  of  course,  the  possible  al- 
ternatives of  returning  a  portion  of  it  to  the  donors,  or  of 
diverting  it,  after  communicating  with  the  donors,  to  some 
other  allied  purpose.  Neither  of  these  courses  appeared  to 
the  committee  feasible  under  all  the  circumstances,  and  it 
therefore  remained  to  expend  it  for  such  of  the  bona  fide 
sufferers  from  the  disaster  as  were  willing  to  accept  aid, 
and  to  do  this  in  such  a  manner  as  to  run  the  least  risk  of 
injury  to  the  character  of  those  who  received  it,  and  to 
insure  the  nearest  approach  to  equity  among  all  concerned. 
Because  it  was  felt  that  liberal  aid  in  meeting  the  extraor- 
dinary burdens  caused  directly  by  the  disaster  would  be 
much  less  likely  to  prove  harmful,  the  committee  had  less 
hesitation  in  meeting  the  full  expenses  for  burial,  even 
when  there  was  left  to  the  survivors  a  moderate  life  insur- 
ance, or  a  modest  savings-bank  account.  With  a  view  to 
this  permanent  effect  upon  character,  the  committee  has 
attempted  to  give  with  just  discrimination  although  at  the 
same  time  with  the  liberality  which  donors  to  the  fund 
have  expected;  and  for  this  reason  finally  the  committee 
has  deemed  it  wise  at  the  earliest  practical  moment  to  close 
its  active  work,  leaving  to  other  and  more  permanent 
bodies  any  responsibility  for  subsequent  relief. 

[NOTE. — A  unique  incident  in  connection  with  this  disaster  was  the 
formal  organization  of  the  dissatisfied  element  among  the  survivors,  with 
the  avowed  purpose  of  forcing  the  distribution  of  the  funds  according  to 
their  own  ideas  of  their  "  rights,"  and,  later,  of  securing  from  the  federal 
treasury  an  allowance  for  each  life  lost.  While  this  organization  did  not 
on  any  point  influence  the  decisions  of  the  committee,  still  it  was  an  ele- 
ment to  be  reckoned  with,  for  it  had  a  perceptible  effect  on  the  group  of 
families  affected  by  the  disaster.  Many  were  stirred  up  to  apply  for  aid 
who  had  little  or  no  need  for  it  and  others  who  in  spite  of  a  just  claim  on 
the  fund  had  at  first  sturdily  declined  all  offers  of  assistance,  were  per- 
suaded to  accept  it.  This  incident  serves  to  emphasize  the  necessity  of 
dealing  with  claimants  individually  and  directly  rather  than  through  irre- 
sponsible representatives.  ] 


456 


PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF 


PART    IV 


SUMMARY 


Total  number  recovered 
Identified 
Unidentified     . 


897 
61 


958 


Number  of  families  who  lost  one  or  more 

Number  of  families  aided  by  the  Committee 

(The  numbers  that  follow  refer  only  to  the  437  families 

aided  by  the  Committee.) 
Number  of  persons  lost  in  these  437  families 
Of  these  784,  there  were  : 

Fathers     .......  9 

Mothers  191 

Wives  without  children    ....  30 

Children  over  14       .....  155 

Children  under  14 356 

Women  living  alone         ....  7 

Men  living  alone       .....  5 

Other  adults 31 


590 
437 


784 


Number  of  men  who  lost  entire  family           .         .         .  120 
Families  in  which  children  were  made  orphans  by  loss 

of  both  or  only  surviving  parent         ....  12 

Number  of  orphans  in  these  families      ....  27 

Of  wage-earning  age  and  self-supporting  10 

Number  of  persons  buried  by  the  Committee         .         .  705 

Average  cost  of  each  burial $115.29 

Total  cost  of  burials $81,279.99 

Families  in  which  medical  attendance  was  supplied      .  38 

Cost  of  medical  attendance,  etc $1,264.17 

Families  given  temporary  aid         .....  133 

Expended  for  temporary  aid $2,042.58 

Expended  for  transportation $125.00 

Expended  for  reimbursement  of  losses            .         .        .  $632.13 

Appropriated  for  future  needs  in  67  families         .         .  $21,801.00 

Expenses  Cooper  Union  Memorial  Meeting            .         .  $275.00 

Total  operating  expenses $1,062.00 

For  wages $605.83 

For  other  expenses  (including  furniture, 

printing,  postage,  telephone,  etc.)         .     $456.17 


CHAPTER  VII 

LESSONS   TO   BE   LEARNED   FROM  EMERGENCY   RELIEF 
IN   DISASTERS 

THE  story  of  emergency  relief  work  succeeding  the  great 
disasters  at  Chicago  and  Johnstown,  the  three  minor  but 
serious  disasters  coming  in  quick  succession  upon  a  single 
city,  the  hard  times  of  1898-1894,  as  seen  in  two  cities 
with  somewhat  contrasting  conditions,  of  the  successful 
handling  of  the  situation  after  the  Baltimore  fire  with  a 
relief  fund  of  moderate  size,  and  the  expenditure  of  what 
may  be  felt  to  be  an  unnecessarily  large  sum  for  the  benefit 
of  the  survivors  of  the  G-eneral  Slocum  disaster,  have  been 
told  in  detail  because  they  are  typical,  and  together  present 
many  varied  aspects  of  the  problem  of  emergency  relief. 
It  will  not  be  necessary  to  extend  this  study  to  the  numer- 
ous disasters  that  have  befallen  other  communities.  Forest 
fires,  as  in  Minnesota  and  other  states ;  inundations  from 
the  sea,  as  at  Galveston  and  elsewhere;  earthquakes,  as  at 
Charleston ;  cyclones,  as  at  St.  Louis ;  lowland  floods,  as 
along  the  Ohio  and  the  Mississippi,  the  Kansas  and  the  Mis- 
souri ;  droughts,  and  consequent  failure  of  crops  in  limited 
areas  in  the  West,  and  the  various  industrial  crises  through 
which  the  country  has  passed,  present  a  greater  variety  in 
causes  of  disasters  and  in  their  attending  circumstances, 
than  in  the  relief  problem,  the  character  of  which  is  suffi- 
ciently set  forth  by  the  examples  which  we  have  already 
studied. 

The  first  lesson  which  is  written  large  in  the  experience 
of  those  who  have  been  called  upon  to  deal  with  such 
disasters  is  the  folly  and  wastefulness  of  relying  upon 
inexperienced,  untrained,  or  incompetent  agents  for  the 
distribution  of  relief  and  for  the  constructive  work  with- 
out which  relief  distribution  may  easily  be  productive  of 
more  harm  than  good.  There  are  always  at  such  times 

457 


458  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  iv 

novel  problems  to  be  solved,  but  the  experience  of  other 
communities  under  similar  or  analogous  conditions  will 
aid  in  their  solution  if  it  can  be  brought  to  bear.  It  may 
be,  as  at  Chicago  after  the  great  fire,  that  the  problem  is 
primarily  one  of  relief  pending  the  resumption  of  trade 
and  industry.  It  may  be,  as  at  Johnstown  and  at  Hepp- 
ner,1  that  the  problem  of  sanitation  and  public  safety  is 
equally  important ;  or,  as  at  Martinique,  that  the  destruc- 
tion of  life  is  so  complete  that  little  relief  is  required 
except  for  the  transportation  of  the  few  survivors  for 
whom  no  means  of  livelihood  remain.  It  may  be  that,  as 
in  Paterson  after  the  fire  and  flood  of  March,  1902,  and 
the  tornado  of  1903,  and  as  in  Baltimore  after  the  devas- 
tating fire  of  1904,  the  community  as  a  whole  remains 
self-supporting,  even  though  one  portion  is  severely  taxed 
to  supply  the  necessities  of  other  portions  that  have  espe- 
cially suffered,  and  that  as  a  consequence  no  outside  relief 
is  needed  ;  or,  on  the  other  hand,  as  at  Galveston  after 
the  inundation  in  September.  1900,  and  at  Kansas  City  in 
1903,  that  all  classes  have  been  so  universally  stricken 
that  outside  relief  is  imperative  ;  it  may  be,  as  at  East 
St.  Louis  after  the  inundations  of  May  and  June,  1903,  that 
relief  is  provided  in  sufficient  quantity  from  towns  and 
cities  in  the  immediate  vicinity,  although  not  in  sufficient 
amount  from  the  stricken  town  or  city  itself;  it  may  be,  as 
in  Indianapolis,  that  there  is  a  comparatively  homogeneous 
and  intelligent  working  population  deprived  of  employment 
through  a  temporary  paralysis  of  commerce  and  industry, 
and  that,  as  in  New  York  City,  widespread  unemploy- 
ment is  accompanied  by  unusual  opportunities  to  perform 
public  work  which  the  local  authorities  are  neglecting ;  or 
it  may  be,  as  in  the  case  of  the  General  /Slocum  disaster, 
that  a  very  liberal  relief  fund  is  immediately  subscribed  and 
the  chief  problem  of  the  committee  responsible  for  its 
disbursement  becomes  one  of  applying  the  fund  in  such  a 
way  as  to  do  as  little  injury  as  possible  to  families  that 
have  heretofore  been  independent,  and  in  an  exceptional 
degree,  self-reliant. 

1  The  county  seat  of  Morrow  County,  Oregon,  which  was  visited  by  a 
cloud-burst  on  June  14,  1903,  in  which  two  hundred  persons,  about  one- 
seventh  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  town,  lost  their  lives. 


CHA*.  vii  ESSENTIALS   IN  ORGANIZATION  459 

It  is  indispensable  that  there  shall  be  a  quick  percep- 
tion of  the  essential  features  of  the  existing  situation  in 
those  who  would  lead  a  community  and  outside  sym- 
pathizers to  a  wise  conclusion  in  the  face  of  impending 
or  accomplished  destruction  of  life  and  property. 

When  it  has  been  decided  that  there  is  need  for  relief, 
whether  in  the  form  of  money,  of  transportation,  of  labor, 
or  in  whatever  direction,  then  there  should  be  summoned 
an  executive,  if  such  a  one  can  be  found,  who  is  endowed 
with  financial  capacity,  a  knowledge  of  human  nature, 
experience  in  dealing  with  men,  and  acquaintance  with 
the  peculiar  and  difficult  problems  constantly  arising  in 
the  attempt  to  relieve  suffering  and  distress  without  injury 
to  the  self-respect  of  those  who  are  to  be  aided,  and  with- 
out injury  to  their  neighbors.  If  the  problem  is  a  large 
and  complicated  one,  numerous  sub-committees  will  be 
requisite  and  a  staff  of  assistants.  There  should  be 
searching  inquiry  into  the  claims  for  relief  where  the 
facts  are  not  fully  known.  The  Board  of  Inquiry  inau- 
gurated at  Johnstown  by  Tom  L.  Johnson,  of  Cleve- 
land, speedily  became  one  of  the  most  important  features 
of  the  whole  relief  system,  and  upon  it  eventually  de- 
volved the  real  decision  as  to  the  persons  to  be  aided  and 
as  to  the  amounts  they  should  receive.  The  relief  dis- 
bursed after  the  Baltimore  fire,  under  the  direction  of 
Jeffrey  R.  Brackett,  and  after  the  G-eneral  Slocum  disaster, 
under  the  direction  of  A.  A.  Hill,  Secretary  of  the  Relief 
Committee,  was  similarly  based  upon  accurate  knowledge. 

There  should  be  an  executive  committee,  whether  called 
by  that  name,  as  in  Chicago,  or  by  some  other  designation, 
thoroughly  acquainted  with  local  conditions  and  in  con- 
stant touch  with  the  relief  operations.  Whether  this 
committee  should  have  the  full  responsibility,  or  should 
itself  be  responsible  to  a  larger  board  or  commission,  will 
depend  upon  various  conditions,  and  especially  upon  the 
extent  of  the  area  from  which  donations  are  received.  If 
contributions  are  made  from  distant  communities,  it  may 
be  advisable  that  there  should  be  representatives  upon  the 
controlling  body  from  such  communities,  or  at  least  there 
should  be  as  members  of  it  citizens  of  sufficient  reputation 
and  standing  to  inspire  a  feeling  of  confidence  even  in  the 


460  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

most  distant  places.  After  the  Johnstown  Flood  a  com- 
mission was  appointed  by  state  authority  on  which  there 
was  comparatively  little  local  representation,  and  the  prin- 
cipal responsibility  in  Johnstown  itself,  during  the  period 
of  greatest  need,  rested  upon  what  was  known  as  a  finance 
committee.  Although  there  are  advantages  in  an  authori- 
tative and  widely  represented  commission,  such  as  that 
which  was  then  created,  it  is  doubtful  whether  the  result- 
ing delays  and  the  lack  of  familiarity  with  the  actual 
situation  are  not  fatal  objections.  It  is  certain  that  de- 
cisions, if  made  at  a  distance,  should  be  influenced  by  the 
opinion  of  those  who  are  on  the  spot.  In  any  event  the 
real  responsibility  will  naturally  rest  principally  upon 
the  local  executive  committee  and  its  executive.  The 
strictly  local  character  of  the  New  York  East  Side  Relief 
Work  Committee  in  1893-1894  was  one  of  its  chief  sources 
of  strength.  The  committee  should  lay  down  the  prin- 
ciples on  which  aid  is  to  be  extended,  and  full  responsibil- 
ity for  carrying  them  into  effect  should  devolve  upon  the 
executive. 

Material  should  be  preserved  for  the  publication  of  a 
complete  report,  including  a  detailed  financial  record  of 
both  receipts  and  disbursements.  This  is  not  only  due  to 
contributors  and  to  the  public  as  a  guide  in  future  emer- 
gencies, but  it  is  of  advantage  to  those  who  are  responsible 
for  the  relief  measures,  in  order  that,  if  criticisms  or  con- 
troversies arise,  a  full  statement  can  be  made.  The  Fire 
Report  of  the  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society  and  the 
report  published  in  Calcutta  of  the  Central  Executive 
Committee  of  the  Indian  Famine  Charitable  Relief  Fund 
of  1900  may  be  cited  as  models  of  most  complete  and 
elaborate  reports;  and,  although  of  briefer  compass,  the 
Report  of  the  Secretary  of  the  Johnstown  Relief  Commis- 
sion, the  Report  of  the  Jacksonville  (1901)  Relief  Asso- 
ciation, the  Report  of  the  Indianapolis  Commercial  Club 
Relief  Committee  of  1893-1894,  the  Report  of  the  Minne- 
sota State  Commission  for  the  Relief  of  Fire  Sufferers 
(September,  1894  ;  report  printed  1895),  and  the  Report  of 
the  G-eneral  Slocum  Relief  Committee,  printed  as  a  chapter 
in  this  volume,  are  equally  explicit  and  valuable  as  sources 
of  information. 


CHAP,  vii  THE   VALUE   OF   REPORTS  461 

The  failure  to  publish  similar  reports,  or,  indeed,  any- 
thing that  can  be  properly  called  a  report  or  financial 
statement,  is  one  of  the  just  criticisms  made  against  the 
American  National  Red  Cross.  This  society  has  taken 
part  in  the  relief  of  the  sufferers  from  the  forest  fires  in 
Michigan  in  1881,  from  the  overflow  of  the  Mississippi 
River  in  1882,  and  of  the  Ohio  in  1883,  from  the  Missis- 
sippi cyclone  in  the  same  year,  from  the  overflow  of  the 
Ohio  and  Mississippi  in  1884,  from  the  drought  in  Texas 
in  1886,  from  the  Charleston  earthquake  in  the  same  year, 
from  the  Mount  Vernon  (Illinois)  cyclone  in  1888,  from 
the  yellow  fever  epidemic  in  Florida  in  the  same  year, 
from  the  Johnstown  disaster  in  1889,  from  the  inundation, 
hurricane,  and  tidal  wave  of  the  South  Carolina  coast  in 
1893  and  1894,  and  from  the  Galveston  Flood  in  1900. 

In  connection  with  these  various  enterprises,  and  others 
in  which  the  Red  Cross  has  been  interested,  large  sums  of 
money  have  been  contributed  to  the  Red  Cross  Society, 
but  for  their  disbursement  no  suitable  public  accounting 
appears  to  have  been  made  in  any  instance.  In  the  pam- 
phlets and  addresses  issued  by  the  society  such  paragraphs 
as  the  following  take  the  place  of  definite  statements  con- 
cerning what  was  actually  done  and  what  relation  such 
action  bore  to  the  relief  work  of  other  and  often  more 
important  agencies :  — 

"  The  Secretary  brought  together  the  women  of  Johns- 
town, bowed  to  the  earth  with  sorrow  and  bereavement, 
and  the  most  responsible  were  formed  into  committees 
charged  with  definite  duties  toward  the  homeless  and  dis- 
traught of  the  community.  Through  them  the  wants  of 
over  three  thousand  families  —  more  than  twenty  thousand 
persons  —  were  made  known  in  writing  to  the  Red  Cross, 
and  by  it  supplied  ;  the  white  wagons  with  the  red  symbol 
fetching  and  carrying  for  the  stricken  people." 

It  is  principally  considerations  of  this  kind  that  have 
led  to  the  recent  remonstrance  from  some  of  the  most 
prominent  members  of  the  Red  Cross  Society,  and  to  an 
attempt,  thus  far  unsuccessful,  to  bring  about  a  reorgani- 
zation of  its  management,  especially  on  the  financial  side.1 

1  It  is  reported,  while  the  present  volume  is  in  press,  that  this  reor- 
ganization, somewhat  in  the  nature  of  a  compromise,  has  been  effected. 


462  PRINCIPLES  OF  RELIEF  PART  iv 

In  times  of  great  calamity,  such  as  we  have  been  con- 
sidering, many  who  are  ordinarily  quite  self-supporting 
find  themselves  suddenly  bereft  of  property,  of  accumu- 
lated savings,  of  the  means  of  livelihood,  and  even  of  the 
barest  necessities  of  life.  The  disaster  may  befall  a  com- 
munity of  high  industrial  standards,  with  few,  if  any, 
paupers  or  public  dependents  —  a  community  in  which 
there  is  little  lawlessness  and  crime.  Under  such  condi- 
tions the  principle  of  indemnity,  as  distinct  from  that  of 
charity,  may  well  have  a  very  general  application.  The 
principle  of  indemnity  is  that  of  the  fire  insurance  com- 
panies, and,  in  a  modified  form,  also  that  of  the  life  and 
accident  insurance  companies.  It  implies  the  reinstate- 
ment of  the  beneficiary  as  nearly  as  possible  in  the  posi- 
tion from  which  he  was  hurled  by  the  calamity  which  has 
befallen  him.  It  implies  that  to  the  householder  shall  be 
given  the  use  of  a  house,  to  the  mechanic  his  tools,  to  the 
family  its  household  furniture,  to  the  laborer  the  oppor- 
tunity of  remunerative  employment.  For  the  community 
as  a  whole  it  means  the  speedy  restoration  of  such  com- 
mercial and  industrial  activities  as  have  been  temporarily 
suspended,  the  rebuilding  of  bridges,  the  reopening  of 
streets,  the  reestablishment  of  banks,  business  houses, 
churches,  and  schools.  It  requires  that  protection  shall 
be  given  to  the  defenceless,  food  and  shelter  to  the  home- 
less, suitable  guardianship  to  the  orphan,  and,  as  nearly 
as  possible,  normal  social  and  industrial  conditions  to  all. 
The  charitable  principle  takes  account  only  of  the  neces- 
sities of  those  who  apply  for  aid ;  the  principle  of  indem- 
nity gives  greater  weight  to  their  material  losses  and  the 
circumstances  under  which  they  were  previously  placed. 
It  is  a  vital  question  whether  the  principle  of  indemnity 
might  not  properly  have  a  wider  application  to  ordinary 
relief  than  has  usually  been  given  to  it,  but  we  may  be 
certain  that  the  pauperizing  effects  supposed  to  result 
from  liberal  relief  have  not  been  found  to  follow  the  most 
generous  attempts  to  avert  completely  the  paralyzing  and 
direful  consequences  of  such  disasters  as  we  are  now  con- 
sidering. Both  in  Chicago  and  in  Johnstown  hundreds 
of  families  were  placed,  by  gifts  of  money,  or  of  house, 
furniture,  clothing,  or  tools,  in  a  position  practically  as 


CHAP,  vii  THE   INDEMNITY   PRINCIPLE  463 

good  as  that  which  they  had  occupied  before  the  fire  or 
the  flood  respectively,  and  in  the  former  homeless  persons 
who  owned  or  could  rent  a  lot,  or  part  of  one,  were  given 
money  or  lumber  to  build  a  "  relief  shanty."  In  this  way 
many  people  became  house  owners  for  the  first  time  in 
their  lives.  There  is  ample  testimony  that  in  practically 
all  instances  good  results  were  obtained  from  this  policy. 
In  Chicago  harmful  consequences  in  the  subsequent  chari- 
table history  of  the  city  have  been  traced,  whether  right- 
fully or  not,  to  the  appropriations  made  to  charitable 
institutions  on  the  condition  that  the  society  which  was 
the  custodian  of  the  fund  thereby  acquired  a  right  to  con- 
trol a  proportionate  number  of  admissions  to  their  insti- 
tutions ;  and  in  Johnstown  there  was  unquestionable 
hardship  from  the  delay  in  its  distribution  and  from 
the  early  indiscriminate  grants  made  without  knowledge 
of  the  circumstances  of  claimants;  but  in  neither  city 
were  there  well-founded  complaints  of  the  results  of  dis- 
criminating and  judicious  disbursements  in  large  amounts, 
made  with  the  avowed  purpose  of  putting  the  recipients 
in  a  position  to  carry  on  their  former  or  equally  appropriate 
vocations. 

In  emergency  relief  made  necessary  by  industrial  depres- 
sion, the  prime  necessity  of  providing  suitable  employment 
for  which  wages  are  paid,  rather  than  charitable  relief,  is  ap- 
parent. Wages  should  not  be  placed  so  high  as  to  discour- 
age efforts  to  seek  ordinary  work,  and  it  is  essential  that 
there  should  be  the  least  possible  interference  with  ordi- 
nary business  and  industry.  Various  kinds  of  employ- 
ment should  be  discovered,  fitted  to  the  physical  capacity 
of  the  various  classes  of  laborers,  and  nothing  should  be 
undertaken  which  is  not  in  itself  useful  —  which  does  not 
meet  a  distinct  public  need.  As  the  best  example  of  suc- 
cess in  meeting  these  conditions,  the  reader  should  study 
the  experience  of  the  East  Side  Relief  Committee,  which, 
in  1893-1894,  provided  employment  for  some  five  thou- 
sand persons  in  New  York  City.  It  is  reported  by  the 
charitable  societies  of  the  city  that  those  who  were  aided 
by  that  committee  have  very  rarely  been  found  since  that 
winter  among  applicants  for  charitable  relief. 

On  several  occasions  the  usefulness  in  great  emergencies 


464  PRINCIPLES  OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

of  detachments  of  the  standing  army  which  have  happened 
to  be  near  at  hand  has  been  demonstrated.  The  perfect 
discipline  and  the  organization  constantly  maintained  in 
the  army  may  save  days  at  a  time  when  even  hours  are  of 
the  greatest  importance.  The  National  Guard  of  the  vari- 
ous states  may  render,  and  in  some  instances  —  notably,  at 
East  St.  Louis,  Missouri,  in  1903  —  has  rendered,  similar 
service.  The  suggestion  made  by  Dr.  F.  H.  Wines,  in  the 
Charities  Review  for  June,  1898,  that  soldiers  are  of  great 
utility  as  an  aid  in  emergency  relief  work,  was  based  upon 
an  experience  in  the  relief  of  sufferers  from  an  overflow 
of  the  Ohio  River  at  Shawn eetown,  Illinois.  The  detail 
which  came  to  his  assistance  on  that  occasion  consisted  of 
a  sergeant  and  nine  men,  and  their  special  duty  was  that 
of  patrol  and  other  similar  service.  Dr.  Wines  found 
that  even  then  twenty  men  would  have  been  better.  He 
recommends  that  where  any  portion  of  the  population  of 
a  given  community  requires  the  shelter  of  tents,  a  tempo- 
rary canvas  city  provided  by  the  state  or  nation  should  be 
organized  and  remain  under  the  control  of  the  military 
authorities.  By  maintaining  strict  military  discipline  the 
inhabitants  of  the  emergency  camp  at  Shawneetown, 
slightly  exceeding  at  one  time  two  hundred  in  number, 
of  whom  two-thirds  were  Negroes,  were  at  all  times  under 
thorough  control.  By  the  aid  of  the  military  force  it 
became  possible  to  provide  for  these  refugees  "  a  care  so 
sympathetic  and  paternal  that  it  produced  no  pauperizing 
impression." 

For  the  temporary  camp  in  Kansas  City,  Kansas,  tents 
were  supplied  from  the  federal  post  at  Fort  Leavenworth, 
and  for  the  similar  but  smaller  camp  on  the  Missouri  side, 
for  residents  of  Kansas  City  who  had  been  driven  from 
their  homes  by  the  flood,  tents  were  supplied  by  the  state 
militia;  and  in  both  cities  detachments  of  the  National 
Guard  were  called  upon  for  patrol  duty.  One  of  the 
principal  reasons  for  such  a  military  patrol  is  the  tempo- 
rary disorganization  of  the  community.  The  local  con- 
stabulary is  likely  to  be  demoralized  and  excited,  and  the 
presence  of  state  militia  gives  confidence  and  security  to 
people  who  need  temporary  moral  support. 

While  soldiers  may  profitably  be  employed  in  the  man- 


CHAP,  vii  MILITARY  ASSISTANCE  465 

ner  that  has  been  indicated,  it  will  not  ordinarily  be 
found  advantageous  to  place  upon  them  responsibility  for 
relief  or  for  remedial  measures.  Military  discipline  has 
its  limitations  as  well  as  its  advantages,  and  it  would 
unfit  the  average  soldier  or  petty  officer  to  exercise  that 
discriminating  judgment  and  personal  influence  which 
are  so  essential  in  dealing  with  people  who  have  suddenly 
lost  their  possessions  and  require  aid  and  counsel  in  read- 
justing their  affairs  and  regaining  a  foothold  in  the  indus- 
trial system.  This  observation  applies  almost  equally  to 
the  use  of  policemen  in  the  distribution  of  relief.  At  the 
earliest  practicable  moment  the  ordinary  municipal  au- 
thority should  be  established  and  the  necessity  for  military 
patrol  overcome. 

At  Johnstown  one  of  the  most  instructive  chapters  in 
the  history  of  the  few  months  succeeding  the  flood  is  that 
which  deals  with  the  restoration  of  municipal  borough 
authorities  to  the  full  exercise  of  their  functions.  In 
some  of  the  boroughs  affected  by  the  flood  there  was  left 
no  building  in  which  a  meeting  of  the  borough  council 
could  be  held.  Self-constituted  committees  had  tempo- 
rarily managed  police,  health,  and  fire  departments,  and 
later  such  duties  had  been  in  part  assumed  by  state 
authorities.  Gradually,  however,  the  adjutant-general, 
representing  the  state  government,  sought  out  those  who 
had  been  duly  chosen  to  perform  such  duties,  arranged 
suitable  meeting  places  for  councils  and  public  boards,  and 
transferred  to  them  the  duties  which  it  had  again  become 
possible  for  them  to  perform.  No  legal  or  other  contro- 
versies arose  in  connection  with  these  ultra-constitutional 
arrangements,  and  no  act  of  the  legislature  was  thought 
necessary  to  legalize  what  had  been  done  in  the  interval 
during  which  ordinary  municipal  activities  were  sus- 
pended, or  the  acts  performed  by  the  reorganized  and 
restored  municipal  authorities. 

One  suggestion  which  is  frequently  made  is  that  relief 
in  emergencies  should  never  be  in  money,  but  always  in 
an  equivalent.  This  suggestion  is  not  to  be  adopted 
without  consideration  of  the  character  of  the  proposed 
beneficiaries.  It  is  probable  that,  so  far  as  disbursements 
from  public  funds  are  concerned,  the  policy  suggested  is 

2H 


466  PRINCIPLES   OF  RELIEF  PART  iv 

wise,  and  that  provision  of  employment  where  emergency 
relief  measures  are  necessary  is  still  better  than  relief  in 
kind.  Instead  of  opening  free  shelters,  depots  for  free 
food  and  for  the  distribution  of  clothing,  as  early  as  pos- 
sible a  reliable  list  should  be  made,  based  upon  a  knowl- 
edge of  the  portion  of  the  community  affected  by  the 
disaster.  When  an  accurate  list  of  this  kind  has  been 
prepared,  applications  may  be  compared  with  it  and  more 
intelligent  decisions  reached  as  to  the  relief  required. 

The  conclusion  reached  by  the  Johnstown  Flood  Com- 
mission to  make  a  distribution  of  money  was  eminently 
justified  by  the  conditions  that  there  prevailed.  It  was 
then  proposed,  and  indeed  at  one  time  it  had  virtually 
been  decided  by  the  commission,  instead  of  dividing  the 
money  in  their  hands  after  providing  for  various  special 
needs,  to  establish  large  warehouses  and  fill  them  with 
clothing  and  other  necessaries  of  life,  to  be  distributed  as 
occasion  might  require  throughout  the  ensuing  winter. 
A  change  of  plan  was  made  because  of  earnest  and  em- 
phatic protests  from  prominent  citizens  of  Johnstown  who 
were  personally  acquainted  with  the  people  for  whom 
this  scheme  of  relief  was  proposed,  and  who  appreciated 
the  absurdity  of  applying  to  skilled  mechanics  and  pros- 
perous tradespeople  conclusions  based  upon  experiences 
with  applicants  for  ordinary  relief. 

One  cannot  commend  the  methods  of  those  almoners 
of  Johnstown  who,  instead  of  placing  their  funds  in  the 
hands  of  the  relief  committees,  passed  through  the  streets 
handing  ten-dollar  bills  to  every  one  whom  they  met. 
The  criticism,  however,  lies  not  against  their  use  of  money, 
but  against  their  lack  of  discrimination  and  common 
sense.  Many  of  those  to  whom  grants  of  81000  and  up- 
wards were  made  immediately  engaged  in  active  in- 
dustry and  trade,  and  within  a  few  months,  except  for 
the  loss  of  relatives,  neighbors,  and  friends,  might  have 
looked  upon  their  experience  as  a  nightmare  to  be  for- 
gotten in  the  waking  hours  of  renewed  active  life.  It 
is  probable  that  so  large  a  sum  has  never  before  been 
poured  into  a  community  of  equal  size  with  so  little  damage 
to  the  personal  character  of  the  citizens  and  so  complete 
an  absence  of  any  pauperizing  or  demoralizing  influences. 


CHAP,  vii         ADMINISTRATIVE   CONSIDERATIONS  467 

In  the  opinion  of  good  judges  resident  in  the  city  both 
before  and  after  the  flood,  this  is  due  in  part  to  the  fact  that 
money  was  given,  and  that  those  who  received  it  were  left 
free  to  decide  for  themselves  how  it  should  be  expended. 

Two  other  considerations  may  be  suggested.  Special 
emergencies  display  in  a  high  degree  the  need  of  local 
cooperation.  In  meeting  such  distress  as  is  caused  in 
populous  communities  by  a  tornado  or  a  serious  fire,  there 
is  a  place  for  the  activity  of  the  chamber  of  commerce, 
or  merchants'  association,  or  commercial  club,  or  some 
other  representative  of  the  business  interests  of  the  com- 
munity. The  task  of  raising  the  large  sums  of  money 
usually  requisite  can  best  be  undertaken  by  some  such 
body.  Any  appeal  having  their  indorsement  will  be 
likely  to  meet  with  generous  and  quick  response.  There 
is  a  place  also  for  the  charity  organization  society,  or 
bureau  of  charities,  or  provident  association,  or  some 
other  general  agency  whose  officers  and  agents  are  trained 
in  investigation  and  in  the  administration  of  funds.1  It 
may  also  be  expedient,  if  no  such  general  agency  is  in 
existence,  to  call  upon  the  churches  or  upon  such  denomi- 
national bodies  as  the  Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul  and 
the  Hebrew  Charities.  There  may  also  be  a  need  for 
children's  aid  societies  or  the  representatives  of  orphan 
asylums  to  care  for  children  who  are  left  without  guar- 
dianship, and  there  is  almost  always  an  urgent  demand 
for  physicians,  for  a  temporary  ambulance  and  hospital 
service,  and  for  trained  nurses.  The  aid  rendered  by 
volunteer  private  citizens  is  sometimes  as  valuable  as  that 
of  any  organized  agency,  and  often  the  absence  of  organ- 
ized relief  makes  it  imperative  that  private  citizens  shall 
undertake  to  do  what  is  essential,  whether  from  choice 
or  not. 

This  leads  to  the  final  suggestion,  which  is  that  in  the 
presence  of  even  a  serious  disaster  or  an  industrial  crisis, 
leaders  of  public  opinion  should  attempt  to  preserve  in  the 

1  Conspicuous  illustrations  of  the  value  of  training  in  the  regular  work 
of  charity  organization  societies  were  supplied  by  the  Chicago,  Paterson, 
and  Baltimore  fire  relief  funds,  and  in  the  distribution  of  the  General 
Slocum  relief  fund.  The  responsible  direction  of  a  committee  composed 
of  men  of  standing  in  business  and  professional  circles  is  of  course  assumed. 


468  PRINCIPLES   OF   RELIEF  PART  iv 

public  mind  a  due  sense  of  proportion.  When  there  comes 
an  urgent  call  for  aid  from  a  distance,  the  continuing,  and 
possibly  equally  imperative,  needs  at  hand  resulting  from 
more  ordinary  causes  should  not  be  forgotten. 

It  is  not  surprising,  in  view  of  the  frightful  loss  of  life 
at  Martinique  and  its  proximity  to  our  own  shores,  that 
the  New  York  Committee  should  have  received  some 
$80,000  more  than  they  could  disburse,  in  spite  of  an 
announcement  by  the  committee  that  it  would  not  take 
additional  contributions.  This  was  in  part  due  to  the  fact 
that  the  eruption  occurred  in  foreign  territory,  and  that 
public  appropriations  were  made  both  in  the  United  States 
and  France. 

This  is  not  to  be  understood  as  discountenancing  large 
and  immediate  responses  to  special  appeals.  By  no  means 
all  that  is  given  to  meet  special  emergencies  is  deducted 
from  ordinary  charitable  resources.  There  should,  how- 
ever, be  cultivated  a  sane  and  reasonable  examination  of  the 
probable  need  ;  and  the  citizen  who  gives,  even  with  great 
liberality,  should  not  on  that  account  consider  himself  free 
from  the  obligation  to  consider  also  the  needs  of  his  imme- 
diate neighbor.  The  city,  even  in  prosperous  times,  through 
its  quick  industrial  changes  and  by  the  very  conditions  of 
life  which  it  imposes,  places  upon  some  weak  shoulders 
burdens  which  are  not  rightfully  theirs,  and  which  it  is 
the  duty  —  and  it  is  an  agreeable  duty  —  of  their  neigh- 
bors to  share. 


APPENDICES 


APPENDIX   I 

CONSTITUTION    OF    A    CHARITY    ORGANIZA- 
TION  SOCIETY  i 

ARTICLE  I 

NAME 

This  Society  shall  be  known  as  THE  CHARITY  ORGANIZATION 
SOCIETY  OF  THE  CITY  OP . 

ARTICLE  II 

STATEMENT   OF   PURPOSES   AND   OBJECTS 

SECTION  1.  —  To  extirpate  pauperism,  mendicancy,  and  such  social 
conditions  as  create  preventable  dependency. 

SEC.  2.  —  To  provide,  as  far  as  lies  in  its  power  to  obtain  it,  ade- 
quate material  assistance  and  intelligent  care  for  needy  families  in 
their  homes  and  for  homeless  persons. 

SEC.  3.  —  In  accomplishing  the  objects  above  named,  to  obtain  the 
cooperation  of  other  agencies  and  of  charitable  individuals. 

SEC.  4.  —  To  promote  the  general  welfare  by  social  reform  affect- 
ing the  living  condition  of  wage-earners. 

ARTICLE  III 

MEMBERSHIP 

The  Society  shall  be  composed  of  the  following  persons:  — 
I.   Annual  Members  :  Those  who  contribute  annually  [$5]  to  the 
funds  of  the  Society  and  are  approved  by  the  Finance  Committee. 

1This  draft  of  a  Constitution  may  readily  be  modified  to  meet  the 
needs  of  either  a  large  or  a  small  society.  The  portions  which  especially 
require  to  be  modified  to  meet  local  needs  or  which  may  be  omitted  are 
enclosed  in  brackets  [  ].  In  the  preparation  of  this  draft  the  author 
has  been  assisted  by  Frank  Tucker,  formerly  General  Agent  of  the  New 
York  Association  for  Improving  the  Condition  of  the  Poor. 

471 


472  APPENDIX  I 


II.    Associate  Members  :  Those  who  contribute  annually  [$20]   to 

the  funds  of  the  Society  and  are  approved  by  the  Finance  Committee. 

III.    Life  Members :  Those  who  contribute  [$100]  to  the  funds  of 

the  Society  at  any  one  time  and  are  approved  for  life  membership  by 

the  Finance  Committee. 

ARTICLE  IV 

MEETINGS    OF    THE   SOCIETY 

The  annual  meeting  of  the  Society  shall  be  held  on  the  [second 
Wednesday  of  October],  when  a  report  of  the  work  and  condition  of 
the  Society  for  the  past  year  shall  be  submitted  and  members  of  the 
Council  shall  be  elected  to  fill  vacancies  caused  by  expiration  of 
term.  No  person  shall  be  eligible  for  election  as  a  member  of  the 
Council  unless  his  name  shall  have  been  posted  for  ten  successive 
days  prior  to  the  date  of  holding  the  election  in  the  Central  Office  of 
the  Society. 

The  President  may  call  a  special  meeting  whenever  seven  members 
of  the  Society  request  him  in  writing  to  do  so.  Such  written  request 
shall  specify  the  business  to  be  transacted,  and  the  meeting  requested 
shall  be  called  within  twenty  days  after  receipt  of  the  request. 

Seven  members  shall  constitute  a  quorum  at  the  annual  and  at 
any  special  meeting  of  the  Society. 

At  any  special  meeting  only  such  business  shall  be  transacted  as 
was  specified  in  the  notice  of  the  meeting. 


ARTICLE  V 

THE  COUNCIL 
[BOARD  OF  MANAGERS.    BOARD  OF  TRUSTEES] 

SECTION  1.  —  The  management  of  the  Society  shall  be  vested  in  a 
Council  which  shall  consist  of  [thirty]  members  of  the  Society  who 
shall  be  elected  by  ballot  and  hold  office  until  their  successors  shall 
be  elected. 

At  the  first  regular  meeting  of  the  Council  the  membership  shall 
be  divided  by  lot  into  three  classes  as  nearly  equal  in  number  as  pos- 
sible. The  terms  of  those  in  the  first  class  shall  expire  at  the  next 
annual  meeting  of  the  Society  following  this  meeting  of  the  Council ; 
of  the  second  class  at  the  second  annual  meeting  of  the  Society,  and 
of  the  third  class  at  the  third  annual  meeting  of  the  Society.  At 
each  annual  meeting  thereafter  [ten  members]  shall  be  elected  as 
members  of  the  Council  to  replace  the  outgoing  class,  the  term  of 
office  being  [three  years]  and  until  their  successors  are  elected; 
provided,  however,  that  the  absence  of  a  member  from  three  consecu- 
tive meetings  of  the  Council  without  satisfactory  excuse  may  be  con- 
sidered by  the  President  as  equivalent  to  a  resignation,  and  the 


APPENDIX  I  473 


vacancy  so  caused  by  such  resignation  may  be  filled  by  the  Council  as 
hereinafter  provided. 

SEC.  2.  —  The  officers  of  the  Council  shall  consist  of  a  President,  a 
Vice-President,  a  Treasurer,  and  a  Secretary.  All,  excepting  the  Sec- 
retary, shall  be  members  of  the  Council  and  shall  be  elected  by  ballot 
at  the  first  meeting  of  the  Council  after  the  Annual  Meeting  of  the 
Society.  The  Secretary  shall  be  appointed  by  the  Council.  They 
shall  continue  in  office  until  their  successors  are  chosen.  The  officers 
of  the  Council  shall  also  be  the  officers  of  the  Society. 

SEC.  3.  —  The  Council  shall  have  power  to  fill  vacancies  occurring 
in  its  own  body. 

SEC.  4.  —  There  shall  be  a  regular  meeting  of  the  Council  on  the 
[second  Wednesday  of  the  month].  Special  meetings  may  be  called 
by  the  President  at  any  time  and  shall  be  called  on  a  written  request 
of  five  members  of  the  Council.  Two  days'  notice  shall  be  given  of 
any  special  meeting,  and  the  call  shall  specify  the  object  thereof.  No 
other  business  than  that  named  in  the  call  shall  be  presented  at  the 
special  meeting. 

SEC.  5.  —  At  any  meeting  of  the  Council  [seven]  elective  members 
shall  constitute  a  quorum. 

SEC.  6.  —  The  Council  shall  make  such  by-laws  as  it  may  deem 
necessary  governing  the  direction  of  the  Society,  and  may  also  alter  or 
suspend  such  by-laws. 

ARTICLE   VI 

DUTIES    OF    OFFICERS 

SECTION  1.  —  The  President  and  the  Vice-President  shall  perform 
the  duties  which  usually  pertain  to  their  respective  offices. 

SEC.  2.  —  The  Treasurer  shall  have  charge  of  the  funds  of  the 
Society.  He  shall  make  monthly  reports  to  the  Council  and  shall  give 
such  security  as  the  Council  may  require.  His  duties  are  more  fully 
defined  in  Article  VIII. 

SEC.  3.  —  The  Secretary  shall  keep  the  minutes  of  the  Council  and 
shall  notify  officers  and  members  of  the  Council  of  their  appointment. 
He  shall  be,  under  the  direction  of  the  Council,  the  general  executive 
officer  of  the  Society.  He  shall  attend  all  committee  meetings  so  far 
as  practicable,  and  shall  act  as  Secretary  of  the  Executive  Committee 
[of  the  Finance  Committee,  of  the  Committee  on  the  Care  and  Relief 
of  the  Dependent,  of  the  Committee  on  Legislation  and  Legal  Ques- 
tions], and  of  other  standing  committees  so  far  as  practicable.  His 
further  duties  are  set  forth  in  Article  VIII. 

ARTICLE   VII 

DISTRIBUTION    OF    WORK 

SECTION  1.  —  I.  The  various  activities  of  the  Society  shall  be  under 
the  direction  of  standing  and  special  committees  subject  to  the  control 
of  the  Council. 

II.   The  standing  committees  of  the  Council  shall  consist  of  not  less 


474  APPENDIX  I 


than  [three]  persons,  and  shall  be  appointed  annually  by  the  Presi- 
dent, who  shall  also  designate  the  chairman.  It  shall  be  the  duty  of 
each  committee  to  present  a  report  at  each  meeting  of  the  Council. 

SEC.  2.  —  The  Executive  Committee  shall  act  for  the  Council  in  the 
interim  of  its  sessions,  and  shall  approve  of  all  appointments  of  em- 
ployees and  regulate  their  compensation.  It  shall  transact  any  busi- 
ness for  the  Society  which  in  its  judgment  cannot  await  the  action 
of  the  Council  and  does  not  involve  an  expenditure  of  over  [$500]. 
It  shall  make  nominations  to  the  Council  to  fill  vacancies  in  that  body. 

SEC.  3.  —  The  Committee  on  Finance  shall  be  charged  with  the 
duty  of  raising  and  caring  for  the  funds  of  the  Society  as  set  forth  in 
Article  VIII,  and  shall  also  pass  upon  the  names  of  all  persons  quali- 
fied for  membership,  pursuant  to  Article  I. 

SEC.  4.  —  I.  The  Committee  on  the  Care  and  Relief  of  the  Depend- 
ent shall  have  immediate  charge  of  all  work  relating  to  applications 
for  assistance,  the  investigation  of  applications  made  to  the  Society  or 
referred  to  the  Society  for  investigation,  the  keeping  of  records  relat- 
ing to  dependent  families  and  the  making  of  reports  from  such  records, 
and  the  material  relief  of  families  and  homeless  persons. 

[II.  The  city  shall  be  divided,  for  the  purpose  of  the  Society,  into 
such  districts  as  the  Committee  on  the  Care  and  Relief  of  the  Depend- 
ent shall  designate;  but  the  Committee  may  unite  any  two  or  more 
of  such  districts  into  one,  and  may  at  any  time  rearrange  such  districts 
subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Council.] 

[III.  In  each  district,  or  combination  of  districts,  there  shall  be  a 
District  Committee,  consisting  of  twelve  or  more  persons,  preferably 
residents  of  the  district.  The  Committee  on  the  Care  and  Relief  of 
the  Dependent  shall  appoint  the  original  members  of  such  Committee, 
and  said  Committee  shall  thereafter  have  power  to  fill  vacancies  in  its 
own  number,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the  Committee  on  the  Care 
and  Relief  of  the  Dependent.  In  case  a  rearrangement  of  districts 
shall  be  made  at  any  time  by  the  Committee,  it  shall  appoint  the 
original  members  of  the  District  Committee  for  the  newly  combined 
districts.] 

[IV.  Each  District  Committee  shall  perform  such  duties  as  shall 
be  assigned  to  it  by  the  Committee  on  the  Care  and  Relief  of  the 
Dependent.] 

[V.  An  office  shall  be  established  in  a  convenient  position  for  each 
district,  or  combination  of  districts,  for  the  meetings  of  the  committees, 
for  receiving  applications,  and  for  facility  of  reference.] 

[VI.  The  Committee  on  the  Care  and  Relief  of  the  Dependent  may 
appoint  sub-committees  to  deal  with  homeless  persons,  and  such  other 
sub-committees  as  it  may,  from  time  to  time,  find  necessary.] 

[VII.  Whenever  any  particular  group  of  dependents  shall  become 
an  object  of  special  interest  and  inquiry,  or  shall  appear  to  demand 
exceptional  treatment,  the  care  of  such  group  may  be  retained  by  the 
Committee  on  the  Care  and  Relief  of  the  Dependent  without  refer- 
ence to  the  District  Office.] 

SEC.  5.  —  The  Committee  on  Industrial  Employment  shall  have 
charge  of  [the  Industrial  Building,  of  the  Wood  Yard,  Laundry, 
Workrooms,  Sewing  Bureau,  and  other  forms  of]  industrial  employ- 


APPENDIX  I  475 


ment,  and  may  appoint  sub-committees  for  each  department  of  in- 
dustrial employment. 

SEC.  6.  —  The  Committee  on  Fresh  Air  Work  shall  have  charge 
of  the  fresh  air  activities  of  the  Society. 

SEC.  7.  —  The  Committee  on  Mendicancy  shall  be  charged  with 
the  duty  of  suppressing  mendicancy.  [Any  special  officers  appointed 
for  this  purpose  shall  report  to  this  Committee  and  be  under  its 
direction.] 

SEC.  8.  —  The  Committee  on  the  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis  shall 
be  charged  with  the  work  of  securing  and  disseminating  information 
on  means  of  preventing  the  spread  of  tuberculosis,  and  of  any  other 
activities  undertaken  by  the  Society  within  the  scope  indicated  by  the 
title  of  the  Committee. 

SEC.  9.  —  The  Committee  on  Housing  Reform  shall  be  charged 
with  the  duty  of  improving  the  condition  of  tenement-houses  by 
securing  proper  legislation,  by  securing  the  enforcement  of  the  exist- 
ing laws,  by  encouraging  the  building  of  improved  tenements  and 
otherwise. 

SEC.  10.  —  The  Committee  on  Publications  shall  have  charge  of 
the  publications  of  the  Society. 

SEC.  11. — The  Committee  on  Provident  Habits  shall  endeavor 
to  promote  the  general  welfare  of  the  poor  by  the  inculcation  of 
habits  of  prudence  and  thrift,  and  by  supplying  facilities  therefor. 

SEC.  12. — The  Committee  on  Statistics  shall  be  charged  with 
the  collection  and  treatment  of  charitable  and  correctional  statistics 
relating  to  the  work  of  the  Society,  subject  to  the  approval  of  the 
Council. 

ARTICLE  VIII 

SUBSCRIPTIONS   AND   FUNDS 

SECTION  1.  —  The  fiscal  year  of  the  Society  shall  begin  on  the  first 
day  of  July  in  each  year,  but  all  annual  subscriptions  shall  become 
due  upon  the  first  day  of  January  in  each  year. 

SEC.  2. —  No  appeal  for  contributions  to  the  funds  of  the  Society 
shall  be  issued  without  the  sanction  of  the  Finance  Committee;  pro- 
vided, however,  that  the  Secretary  may  make,  from  time  to  time,  in 
the  daily  press,  such  special  appeals  for  contributions  as  exceptional 
conditions  may  require. 

SEC.  3.  —  The  funds  of  the  Society  shall  be  divided  into  three 
parts,  known  as  :  — 

(1)  The  Endowment  Fund. 

(2)  The  Reserve  Fund. 

(3)  The  General  Fund. 

SEC.  4. —  The  Endowment  Fund:  The  Endowment  Fund  shall  con- 
sist of  such  contributions  and  legacies  as  shall  be  given  with  the 
restriction  that  the  income  only  shall  be  used  for  the  purposes  of  the 
Society. 

SEC.  5.  —  The  Reserve  Fund:  The  Reserve  Fund  shall  consist  of 


476  APPENDIX  I 


such  sums  as  may  be  set  aside  from  the  General  Fund,  from  time  to 
time,  by  the  Council,  for  investment.  Whenever  any  part  of  the 
Reserve  Fund  shall  be  appropriated  by  the  Council,  such  sum  shall 
be  immediately  transferred  to  the  General  Fund. 

The  Endowment  and  Reserve  Funds  shall  be  under  the  immediate 
direction  and  control  of  the  Committee  on  Finance,  and  all  invest- 
ments of  these  funds  shall  be  ordered  by  the  Committee. 

The  Treasurer  of  the  Society  shall  be  a  member  of  and  act  as  the 
Treasurer  of  the  Committee  on  Finance,  and  shall  be  responsible  for  the 
safe  keeping  of  the  securities  of  the  Endowment  and  Reserve  Funds. 

Any  uninvested  balance  of  the  Endowment  and  Reserve  Funds 
shall  be  kept  each  in  separate  trust  companies,  in  the  name  of  the 
Society,  subject  to  the  check  of  the  Treasurer,  and  shall,  whenever 
possible,  bear  interest. 

All  income  from  the  Endowment  and  Reserve  Funds  shall  be  trans- 
ferred to  the  General  Fund  as  soon  as  received. 

No  part  of  the  Reserve  Fund  shall  be  used  for  any  purpose  except 
by  resolution  of  the  Council,  and  whenever  any  part  shall  be  appro- 
priated by  the  Council  it  shall  be  immediately  transferred  to  the 
General  Fund. 

SEC.  6.  —  The  General  Fund :  The  term  General  Fund  shall  cover 
all  receipts  of  the  Society  not  constituting  a  Special  Fund  or  specified 
for  the  Endowment  Fund ;  the  intention  being  that  all  income,  in- 
cluding legacies,  donations  for  general  purposes,  and  income  from  En- 
dowment, Reserve,  and  Special  Funds,  shall  be  credited  to  the  General 
Fund,  to  which  the  authorized  disbursements  of  each  activity  of  the 
Society  shall  be  charged  at  the  close  of  the  fiscal  year. 

SEC.  7.  —  Whenever  an  appeal  shall  be  authorized  for  a  particular 
purpose  or  activity  of  the  Society,  the  donations  received  in  response 
to  such  appeal  shall  be  credited  to  a  fund  the  title  of  which  shall 
be  descriptive  of  the  work  done,  and  the  proportion  of  the  donations 
so  received  to  be  transferred  to  the  General  Fund  as  a  proper  share  of 
the  general  administration  expense  of  the  Society  shall  be  decided  by 
the  Committee  on  Finance. 

All  special  funds,  unless  otherwise  specified  by  the  donor,  shall  be 
under  control  of  the  Committee  on  Finance,  in  like  manner  as  the 
Endowment  and  Reserve  Funds,  and  the  securities  or  money  mak- 
ing up  such  fund  shall  be  placed  in  the  hands  of  the  Treasurer  of  the 
Committee  on  Finance,  who  shall  be  responsible  for  the  safe  keeping 
of  the  same ;  all  income  from  any  such  funds  shall  be  transferred  to 
the  General  Fund  on  its  receipt  by  the  Treasurer,  to  be  used  in  ac- 
cordance with  the  terms  of  the  several  trusts. 

SEC.  8.  —  The  Treasurer  shall  notify  the  Secretary  at  once  of  all 
transfers  of  income  from  the  Endowment  and  Reserve  Funds  or  from 
any  Special  Fund  to  the  General  Fund. 

The  Treasurer  shall  notify  the  Secretary  immediately  on  the  re- 
ceipt by  him  of  any  sum  for  the  account  of  the  Society,  that  such 
receipt  may  be  entered  at  once  to  the  credit  of  the  proper  account  on 
the  books  of  the  Society. 

SEC.  9.  —  The  Secretary  shall  be  the  only  disbursing  agent  of  the 
Society,  the  object  of  this  provision  being  to  keep  in  the  Central 


APPENDIX   I  477 


Offices  of  the  Society  all  receipts  for  payments  by  the  Society,  of  any 
kind,  nature,  or  description,  and  to  have  in  the  Central  Offices  imme- 
diate record  of  any  disbursement.  This  provision  shall  not  neces- 
sarily apply  to  the  investment  of  the  Endowment  and  Reserve  Funds, 
nor  of  any  special  fund. 

SEC.  10.  —  All  donations  shall  be  received  by  the  Treasurer,  or  by 
the  Secretary  as  his  representative,  entered  by  him  on  the  proper  books 
of  the  Society,  and  then  deposited  in  such  trust  company  as  is  directed 
by  the  Treasurer. 

SEC.  11. — Whenever  the  Council  shall  make  an  appropriation  out 
of  either  the  Reserve  or  General  Fund,  the  Secretary  shall  send  to  the 
Treasurer  a  copy  of  the  resolution,  making  the  appropriation,  certified 
by  the  Secretary,  which  certified  copy  shall  be  the  Treasurer's  author- 
ity for  transferring  the  appropriated  amount  to  the  Secretary. 

SEC.  12. —  The  Treasurer  shall  keep  an  account  in  the  name  of  the 
Society,  subject  to  his  check  as  Treasurer,  in  such  trust  company  as 
may  be  selected  by  him  and  approved  by  the  Committee  on  Finance, 
and  such  account  shall  draw  interest  whenever  possible.  Such  account 
shall  be  separate  and  distinct  from  those  accounts  opened  for  the  un- 
invested balances  of  the  Endowment,  Reserve,  or  Special  Funds. 

ARTICLE  IX 

AMENDMENTS 

This  Constitution  shall  not  be  amended  except  by  either  (1)  the 
resolution  of  a  two-thirds  vote  of  a  meeting  of  the  Council,  at  which  at 
least  [seven]  elective  members  shall  be  present,  notice  of  such  amend- 
ment having  been  already  given  at  a  previous  stated  meeting  of  the 
Council,  and  a  copy  thereof  sent  to  each  member  of  the  Council  at  least 
five  days  previous  to  the  meeting  at  which  it  is  to  be  considered ;  or 
(2)  the  unanimous  vote  of  such  a  meeting  without  notice  having  been 
given  at  a  previous  stated  meeting,  but  after  the  five  days'  notice  to 
each  member  of  the  Council  hereinbefore  provided. 

The  Secretary  shall  keep  a  bank  account  in  the  name  of  the  Society, 
subject  to  his  check  as  Secretary,  for  current  disbursements. 

SEC.  13.  —  No  resolution  appropriating  money  for  any  purpose 
other  than  the  ordinary  expenses  of  the  Society,  as  provided  for  by 
the  regular  appropriations,  shall  be  acted  upon  at  the  meeting  at 
which  it  is  introduced,  except  when  such  resolution,  making  an  ap- 
propriation, shall  be  recommended  to  the  Council  by  the  Commit- 
tee on  Finance. 

SEC.  14.  —  The  Committee  on  Finance  may  employ  an  expert  account- 
ant to  audit  the  accounts  at  such  times  as  may  be  deemed  necessary. 

SEC.  15,  —  At  each  regular  meeting  of  the  Council  the  Treasurer 
shall  make  a  detailed  statement  of  the  receipts  and  disbursements  for 
the  preceding  calendar  month ;  he  shall  make  a  statement  showing 
the  investments  and  the  receipts  and  disbursements  of  the  Endow- 
ment, Reserve,  and  Special  Funds.  He  shall  make,  at  the  annual 
meeting  of  the  Society,  a  detailed  statement  of  the  receipts  and  dis- 
bursements for  the  fiscal  year. 


APPENDIX  II 


CHARITABLE  TRANSPORTATION 

RULES  AND  SUGGESTIONS  ADOPTED  BY  THE  COMMITTEE 
ON  CHARITABLE  TRANSPORTATION  APPOINTED  AT  THE 
TWENTY-NINTH  NATIONAL  CONFERENCE  OF  CHARI- 
TIES AND  CORRECTION 

EXPLANATORY.  —  A.  The  word  "  transportation  "  as  used  in  the  following 
paragraphs  includes  both  free  transportation  and  the  recommendation  of 
charity  rates,  even  if  the  latter  are  to  be  paid  by  the  applicant. 

B.  The  word  "  he  "  means  he,  she,  or  they,  as  the  context  in  any  case  will 
suggest,  and  the  word  "  applicant "  includes  the  family  group  for  whom  trans- 
portation is  desired. 

C.  "Public  Charity"  includes  not  only  the  official  charities  supported  by 
taxation,  but  any  general  charitable  organization  upon  which  the  applicant  in 
question  has  no  claim  through  membership,  blood  relationship,  or  through  the 
Society's  definite  promise  to  aid  the  specific  applicant. 

D.  In  some  of   the  following    paragraphs   "shall"    is   used,  in   others 
"should"  or  "may."    The  former  word  is  mandatory  and  the  phrases  in 
which  it  is  used  are  to  be  accepted  as  binding  upon  all  signers  of  these  rules. 
Where  "  should  "  or  "  may  "  is  used,  the  paragraph  is  only  a  suggestion  which 
signers  may  observe  or  not,  at  their  discretion. 

RULES  AND  SUGGESTIONS 

1.  Before  any  charitable  transportation  shall  be  granted,  the  organ- 
ization or  official  having  the  matter  under  consideration  must  be 
satisfied  by  adequate  and  reliable  evidence  :  — 

First :  That  the  applicant  is  unable  to  pay  the  regular  fare. 

Second :  That  the  applicant's  condition  and  prospects  will  be  sub- 
stantially improved  by  sending  him  to  the  place  in  question. 

Third:  That  the  applicant  will  have  such  resources  for  mainten- 
ance at  the  point  of  destination  as  will  prevent  him  from  dependence 
on  public  charity. 

2.  An  applicant's  statements  must  in  every  case  be  substantiated 
by  other  definite,  reliable  evidence.     When  this  is  lacking,  the  appli- 
cant should  be  taken  care  of,  if  necessary,  until  the  needful  testimony 
is  secured. 

3.  In  all  cases  an  appropriate  charitable  organization  or  official,  if 
such  exists,  at  the  point  of  destination,  should  be  promptly  advised 

478 


APPENDIX  II  479 


that  the  applicant's  transportation  to  that  place  is  under  consideration, 
or  has  already  been  determined  upon. 

When  a  signer  of  these  rules  is  listed  as  being  located  at  the  pro- 
posed point  of  destination,  it  shall  not  be  legitimate  to  send  the  appli- 
cant thither  unless  notification  is  sent  to  the  signer  in  advance  of  the 
transportation  being  furnished,  or  upon  the  day  when  it  is  provided. 

4.  It  is  strongly  recommended  that  a  report  be  secured  from  an 
appropriate  charitable  organization  or  official  in  the  city  to  which 
transportation  is  desired,  before  any  applicant  is  sent  thither.     This 
is  especially  urged  when  a  signer  of  these  rules  is  listed  as  being 
located  at  the  point  of  destination. 

All  signers  have  definitely  announced  themselves  as  willing  to 
cooperate  with  other  signers  "by  making  reasonable  efforts  to  secure 
needful  information  and  to  determine  whether  transportation  ought 
to  be  provided  in  any  given  case.  Other  charitable  agencies,  also,  are 
usually  willing  to  make  any  legitimate  inquiries  and  reports  which 
fall  within  the  range  of  their  customary  activities. 

5.  All  charitable  transportation  provided  shall,  in  every  instance, 
be  adequate ;  that  is,  the  initial  or  original  sender  shall  provide  for  the 
applicant  through  to  his  ultimate  destination.     When  through  tickets 
cannot  be  secured  at  charity  rates,  the  initial  sender  may  enlist  the 
services  of  some  charitable  agency  at  an  intermediate  point,  all  ex- 
penses to  be  borne  by  the  initial  sender. 

6.  If  an  applicant  has  been  aided  to  reach  a  place  intermediate  to 
the  point  of  his  proper  destination,  without  means  having  been  pro- 
vided for  forwarding  him  to  the  latter,  then  no  further  transportation 
should  be  granted  without  inquiry  of  the  charitable  organization  or 
individual  who  sent  the  applicant  thither.     This  correspondent  should 
be  requested  to  remit  the  amount  necessary  either  to  forward  the 
applicant  to  his  destination  or  to  return  him  to  the  starting-point.    If 
a  satisfactory  response  is  not  promptly  made,  the  applicant  should  be 
returned  to  the  place  where  his  charitable  transportation  originated. 

7.  If  an  applicant  who  has  been  provided  with  charitable  trans- 
portation to  a  given  place  shall  there  become  dependent  on  public 
charity  within  nine  months  after  his  arrival,  or  within  the  time  there 
specified  by  law  as  necessary  for  the  establishment  of  a  legal  resi- 
dence, then  the  charitable  organization  or  individual  who  sent  him 
thither  should  be  notified  and  requested  to  provide  for  the  applicant's 
necessities  or  to  remit  the  money  necessary  to  return  him  to  the  place 
from  which  his  transportation  was  provided.  . 

8.  In  case  an  applicant  has  been  forwarded  in  violation  of  these 
rules  or  has  become  dependent  upon  public  charity  within  the  time 
specified  above,  then  the  reasonable  expense  of  providing  for  him 
temporarily,  pending  investigation   and  the  proper   disposal  of   the 
case,  should  be  considered  as  a  proper  charge  against  the  charitable 
organization  or  individual  from  whom   the   applicant  secured  his 
transportation. 

9.  The  society  or  official  through  whom  charitable  transportation 
is  procured  shall  in  each  case  preserve  a  full  record  of  all  the  essential 
facts  upon  which  the  granting  of  transportation  has  been  based. 

A  copy  or  summary  of  such  record  should  be  furnished  promptly 


480  APPENDIX  II 


on  request  to  any  charitable  organization  or  official  interested  in  the 
case.  When  such  request  for  a  digest  of  the  record  comes  from  a 
signer  of  these  rules,  it  shall  be  considered  mandatory  upon  any  other 
signer. 

10.  In  case  of  persons  asking  charitable  transportation  on  the 
ground  of  being  able  to  secure  employment  in  the  place  to  which 
transportation  is  desired,  definite,  reliable  assurances  of  employment 
must  be  obtained  as  part  of  the  necessary  evidence.     A  general  re- 
port that  conditions  of  employment  are  better,  or  that  the  applicant 
would  be  "  better  off  "  in  the  place  specified,  shall  not  be  considered 
sufficient  grounds  for  the  granting  of  transportation. 

11.  Organizations  and  individuals  who  agree  to  these  rules  thereby 
pledge  themselves  to  keep  a  copy  of  the  rules  and  the  telegraphic 
code  conveniently  at  hand,  and  to  use  all  due  diligence  in  making 
reasonable  inquiries  requested  by  other  signers  of  the  rules  and  in 
replying  to  communications  regarding  transportation  cases. 

12.  Persons  forwarded  by   charitable  agencies   or  officials  from 
places  where  any  contagious  or  infectious  disease  is  known  to  be 
epidemic,  must  be  provided  with  the  proper  health  certificates. 

13.  When  disagreement,  as  to  facts  or  decisions,  arises  in  regard 
to  any  transportation  case,  one  or  both  the  parties  concerned  may 
appeal  to  :  — 

(1)  The  secretary  of  the  State  Board  of  Charities,  if  both  dispu- 
tants are  located  in  the  same  State  ;  or,  if  not, 

(2)  Their  two  State  secretaries  working  jointly  or  to  either  one  of 
them,  or, 

(3)  The  general  secretary  of  the  National  Conference  of  Charities 
and  Correction. 

CHARLES  F.  WELLER,  "1 


MAX  SENIOR. 


INDEX 


[NOTE.  — For   names   of   societies,  committees,    associations,    and   city 
departments,  see  under  Societies.] 


Adoption  of  children,  108. 
ADULTS,  DEPENDENT,  127-134. 

See  DEPENDENT  ADULTS. 
Age  of  deserting  husbands,  138. 

of  displaced  employees,  157. 
Aged,  almshouse  as  a  public  home  for, 

131. 

Private  homes  for,  98,  101. 
Air-shaft,  in  tenement-houses,  63,  65. 
Alcohol  as  a  poison,  145. 
Alcoholism  as  a  disease,  148. 
Allen,  S.,  291. 
Allen,  William  H.,  447. 
Almsgiving,  to  mendicants,  73,  75, 177. 
Almshouse,  the,  99,  100,  278,  282,  289, 

319. 

Differentiation  of  inmates,  129. 
America,  pauperism  in,  278. 
Private  outdoor  relief  in,  314-357. 
Public  outdoor  relief  in,  278-313. 
Annals  of  the  American  Academy  of 
Political  and  Social  Science,  42, 
72. 

Appropriations  for  dependent  survi- 
vors of  disasters,  381,  401,  403, 
450,  454. 

Associated  charities,  78,  283,  323,  355. 
Associations  for  improving  the  condi- 
tion of  the  poor,  78,  283,  321,  355. 

Baily,  Joshua  L.,  301. 

BALTIMORE  FIRE,  THE,  432-444,  457, 

458,  459. 

No  residence  section  affected,  432; 
little  immediate  distress,  433;  ap- 
pointment of  the  Citizens'  Com- 
mittee, 434;  policy  adopted,  434; 
staff,  435 ;  cooperation  of  existing 


charitable  agencies,  435 ;  publicity 
avoided,  437  ;  difficulty  in  finding 
sufferers,  437 ;  cooperation  with 
the  churches,  439;  loans,  440; 
care  of  the  sick,  441;  employ- 
ment, 441 ;  financial  policy,  441 ; 
actual  conditions,  442;  the  state 
appropriation,  442 ;  summary  of  aid 
given,  443 ;  lessons  to  be  learned, 
444 ;  spirit  of  the  people,  444. 

Beaver,  James  A.,  385. 

Beggars.      See    Mendicancy,    Mendi- 
cants. 

Belknap,  William  W.,  364. 

Blackmar,  F.  W.,  478. 

Blankenburg,  Rudolph,  301. 

Boarding  out,  of  aged,  134. 
of  children,  105,  114,  115,  122,  125. 
of  insane,  101. 

Bogart,  E.  L.,  72. 

Booth,  Charles,  332. 

Boston  Charities  Directory,  340. 

Brackett,    Jeffrey  R.,    277,  432,  437, 
439,  459. 

Brandt,  Lilian,  58. 

BREAKING  UP  OF  FAMILIES,  THE,  97- 

106. 

Presumption  always  against  it,  97 ; 
the  family  the  unit  of  social  or- 
ganization, 97;  effect  of  charita- 
ble institutions  on  family  life, 
98 ;  almshouse  and  private  homes 
for  the  aged,  99;  improvement  of 
almshouses,  100 ;  decrease  of  alms- 
house population,  100;  temporary 
removal  of  the  sick,  101 ;  removal 
of  insane,  101 ;  collateral  relatives, 
102 ;  removal  of  children  to  iusti- 


2i 


481 


482 


INDEX 


tutions,  102 ;  private  assistance  to 
prevent  breaking  up  of  families, 
103 ;  removal  because  of  improper 
guardianship,  103 ;  for  incorrigible 
conduct,  104;  orphans  and  aban- 
doned children,  104;  the  institu- 
tion and  boarding-out,  105;  the 
breaking  up  of  families  for  insuffi- 
cient reasons  a  serious  evil,  106. 

Breckinridge,  John  C.,  447. 

Brown,  John  H.,  400. 

Brown,  T.  B.,  363. 

Bryce,  James,  281. 

Buffalo,  housing  conditions  in,  64. 

Burgess,  M.  H.,  340. 

Business  activities,  restoration  of,  in 
emergency  relief,  395,  462. 

Cash  distributions  in  emergency  relief, 
381,  396,  410,  446. 

Causes  of  poverty,  4,  50,  134,  135,  144, 
151,  181,  285,  286,  291,  292,  293, 
314,  316,  319. 

Chalmers,  Thomas,  333,  356,  357. 

Charitable  activities,  unity  in,  10,  316. 
See  also  Relief. 

Charitable  impulse,  development  of, 

177. 

in  professional  and  business  rela- 
tions, 333. 

CHARITABLE  TRANSPORTATION, 

RULES     AND      SUGGESTIONS,    478- 

480. 

Charities,  60, 131,  283,  432. 
Charities  Record,  444. 
Charities  Review,  278,  413. 
Charity,  modern,  26. 
New  conception  of,  11. 
Private,  74,  76,  105,   128,  297,  305, 
308,  310,  311,  312,  314. 

See  also  PRIVATE  OUTDOOR 

RELIEF. 

Relief. 

Unorganized  indi- 
vidual charity. 
Public,  see          Almshouse. 

PUBLIC  OUTDOOR 

RELIEF. 

Charity  and  democracy,  14, 16. 

and  evolution,  6. 

and  government,  27. 

and  religion,  11. 
Charity  organization  literature,  10. 


Charity  organization  societies,  78,  79, 

283,  342,  467. 

Dangers  of  demoralization,  351. 
Draft  of  a  constitution,  471-477. 
Essential  features,  345. 
Opposition  encountered,  352. 
Origin,  343. 
Scope,  355. 
CHICAGO  FIRE,  THE,  323,  361-381,  457, 

458,  459,  460,  462,  463,  467. 
Extent  of  the  fire,  361;  losses,  362; 
temporary  provision  for  order  by 
the  mayor,  363;  military  rule, 
364 ;  the  governor's  proclamation, 
365;  offers  of  aid  from  other 
states  and  cities,  365;  organiza- 
tion of  the  general  relief  commit- 
tee, 366;  relief  work  turned  over 
to  the  Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  So- 
ciety, 367 ;  directions  in  regard  to 
contributions,  369;  organization 
of  committees,  370;  subscriptions 
closed,  370 ;  method  of  work,  371 ; 
number  aided,  372;  distribution 
of  food,  372;  coal,  373;  and  cloth- 
ing, 373;  basis  on  which  aid  was 
given,  374 ;  the  storing  of  supplies, 
376;  expenditures  for  transporta- 
tion, 377;  the  problem  of  shelter, 
377;  "special  relief,"  379;  fund 
for  self-supporting  women  and 
widows  with  children,  381. 
Child  labor,  42. 

CHILDREN,  DEPENDENT,  107-126. 
See  DEPENDENT  CHILDREN. 
Orphan  or  deserted,  constituting  a 

family,  80. 

Removal  from  almshouses,  130. 
Removal  from  their    own    homes, 

102. 

Churches,  relief  work  of,  74,  75,  323. 
Dissatisfaction  with  results,  327. 
Examples,  325. 
Inherent  dangers,  329. 
Cillis,  H.,447. 

Classification  in  almshouses,  99,  100. 
Collateral  relatives,  102. 
Colonist  and  immigrant,  difference  in 

characteristics,  162. 
Committee  on  the  Sanitary  Condition 
of  the  Laboring  Classes  of  the  City 
of  New  York,  Report  of,  with  Re- 
medial Suggestions,  320. 


INDEX 


483 


CONSTITUTION  OF  A  CHARITY  ORGAN- 
IZATION SOCIETY,  DRAFT  OF,  471- 

477. 

Constitution  of  the  family,  80-96. 
See  RELIEF  AS  MODIFIED  BY  THE 

CONSTITUTION  OF  THE  FAMILY. 

Cooke,  James  W.,  410. 
Cooperation,  315,  345,  347,  351. 
in  emergency  relief,  367,  405,  421, 

435,  439,  440,  441,  448,  467. 
Criminal  law,  reform  of,  in  England, 

273,  274. 

Crothers,  T.  D.,  149. 
Cuba,  malarial  and  yellow  fever  in, 

14,  51. 

Cummin,  H.  H.,  386,  387,  398. 
Cunningham,  W.,  270,  271,  272,  276. 

Davis,  Otto  W.,  409. 

Dawson,  James  L.,  478. 

Day  nurseries,  335,  339. 
Federation  of,  341. 

Death-rate,  decrease  in,  37. 

Deception,    safeguards   against,    317, 

327,  345,  422,  448. 
Temptation  in  liberal  relief,  175. 

De  Forest,  Robert  W.,  65,  72. 

Democracy  and  charity,  14,  16. 

Dependence,  distinguished  from  pau- 
perism, 132,  134. 

DEPENDENT  ADULTS,  127-134. 
Desirability  of  a  system  of  inexpen- 
sive health  insurance,  127 ;  di- 
vision of  work  between  public 
and  private  agencies,  128 ;  differ- 
entiation of  almshouse  inmates, 
129;  removal  of  insane,  129;  of 
children,  130;  of  epileptics,  idiots, 
and  feeble-minded,  130;  of  hos- 
pital patients,  131 ;  the  residuum 
also  a  special  class  —  the  aged  and 
infirm,  131;  increased  expendi- 
tures, 133;  boarding-out  of  aged 
and  infirm,  134. 

DEPENDENT  CHILDREN,  107-126. 
Death  or  adoption  in  primitive  com- 
munities, 107;  development  of 
institutions  and  of  placing-out 
agencies,  108;  subsidies,  108; 
checks  on  excessive  institutional 
population,  108;  religious  consid- 
erations, 110;  parental  rights, 
111;  objections  to  placing-out 


system,  112;  objections  to  institu- 
tions, 116;  improvements  in  in- 
stitutions, 118;  high  standards  in 
placing-out,  119;  disastrous  effect 
of  careless  placing-out,  120;  an 
instructive  calculation  on,  121. 
DESERTION,  FAMILY,  135-143. 

See  FAMILY  DESERTION. 
Desertion  and  relief,  95. 

by  the  mother,  93. 
De  Tocqueville,  281. 
Devine,  Edward  T.,  447,  449. 
Dewey,  Mary  H.,  339. 
Dickey,  Charles  A.,  446. 
Differentiation  of  alrashouse  popula- 
tion, 129. 
Digest  of  illustrative  cases,  185-266. 

See  TYPICAL  RELIEF  PROBLEMS. 
Disasters,  distress  caused  by,  362,  377, 

383,  406,  408,  409,  445,  451. 
Emergency  relief  in,  361-468. 
Exaggerated  reports,  433,  437,  467. 
See  also  Emergency  relief. 
Disciplinary  measures  and  standard  of 

living,  23. 

Discrimination  in  relief,  a  deduction 
from  the  principle  of  standard  of 
living,  23. 

in  medical  relief,  40. 
Lack  of,  315. 
on    the    part    of    public   officials, 

309. 

DISCRIMINATION  IN  RELIEF,  171-176. 
Purpose  of  investigation,  171 ;  char- 
acteristics of  a  good  visitor  and  a 
good  investigation,  171;  points  to 
be  covered,  172;  the  applicant's 
statement,  172;  investigation  es- 
sential in  all  forms  of  charitable 
work,  174 ;  not  a  "  necessary  evil " 
but  a  positive  aid  to  effective  re- 
lief, 174 ;  objections  to  liberal  re- 
lief not  valid,  174;  the  need  for 
caution  and  for  candor  and  fair 
dealing,  176. 

DISEASE,  ELIMINATION  OF,  47-61. 
See. ELIMINATION  OF  DISEASE. 
Diseases  due  to  social  causes,  13. 
Inadequate  provision  for  treatment 

of  certain,  38. 
Dispensaries,  free,  335. 
DISPLACEMENT,  INDUSTRIAL,  151-161. 
See  INDUSTRIAL  DISPLACEMENT, 


484 


INDEX 


Dissatisfaction  with  relief  methods  in 
times  of  disaster,  395,  407,  426,  455. 

Distribution  of  immigrants,  169. 

District  committees,  356. 

Division  of  work  between  public  and 
private  charity,  128. 

Dolan,  Thomas,  386. 

DRAFT  OF  A  CONSTITUTION  FOR  A 

CHARITY  ORGANIZATION  SOCIETY, 

471-477. 

Education  and  relief  compared,  13. 

Efficient  relief,  345,  349,  357,  378,  379. 

Ehret,  George,  446. 

Elder,  Cyrus,  388,  400. 

ELIMINATION  OF  DISEASE,  THE,  47-61. 
Physicians  and  social  reform,  47; 
reduction  of  death-rate,  47 ;  social 
importance  of  high  professional 
skill,  47;  cooperation  with  chari- 
table agencies,  etc.,  48;  medical 
organizations,  49;  endowment  for 
research,  50;  sickness  as  a  cause 
of  distress,  50 ;  malaria,  51;  educa- 
tion of  public  opinion,  52;  defec- 
tive eyesight,  53;  the  movement 
for  the  prevention  of  tuberculosis, 
53 ;  four  lines  of  cooperation :  pop- 
ular education,  54 ;  houses  of  rest, 
54;  sanatoria,  55;  social  aspects, 
56 ;  relief,  57 ;  the  New  York  com- 
mittee, 58 ;  other  cities,  58 ;  the  Na- 
tional Association,  58;  midwifery, 
58;  defence  of  charitable  institu- 
tions from  political  attack,  60. 

Emergency  relief  measures,  366,  371, 

389,  396,  405,  410,  413,  423,  449. 
Essential  features    in  good  work, 

457,  459. 

Expenditures,  361,  378,  379,  381,  404, 
408,  411,  417,  442,  443,  448,  449, 
450,  453. 

Funds,  365,  369,  370,  381,  384,  405, 
410,  413,  421,  431,  433,  441,  446, 
454,  459,  467. 

LESSONS  TO  BE  LEARNED,  see 
LESSONS  TO  BE  LEARNED  FROM 
EMERGENCY  RELIEF  WORK  IN 

DISASTERS,    457-^68. 

Principles,   374,  413,   419,  428,  434, 

440,  444,  447,  454,  462. 
Problems,  variety  in,  407. 
Scope,  430,  449. 


Summaries  of  aid  given,  372,  379, 
386,  390,  404,  408,  411,  414, 443, 453, 
456. 

Emergent  relief,  351. 
Emery,  L.  S.,  391,  392. 
Emigration,  efforts  to  check,  165. 
Employment  agencies,  free,  84,  334, 

335,  336. 

Regulation  of,  338. 
Employment  as  a  substitute  for  relief, 

153,  463. 

Provision  for,  see  Unemployed,  the. 
England  in  1834,  conditions  in,  270. 
ENGLISH  POOR  LAW,  269-277. 
See  REFORM  OF  THE  ENGLISH  POOR 

LAW. 

Epileptics,   removal  from  the   alms- 
house,  130. 

ESSENTIALS   OF   A   RELIEF   POLICY, 

10-28. 

Charitable  relief  a  neglected  field  of 
research  and  discussion,  10;  the 
charity  organization  literature, 
10;  unity  underlying  charitable 
activities,  10;  the  common  task, 
11;  the  new  conception  of  charity, 
11 ;  treatment  of  dependents  by 
primitive  man,  11;  the  growth  of 
sympathy,  11;  class  feeling,  12; 
intermediate  stages,  12;  the  new 
place  of  relief  as  a  social  policy, 
13;  diseases  of  social  origin,  13; 
scientific  discoveries,  14 ;  rapid  in- 
dustrial changes,  .14;  recognition 
of  the  need  of  relief  not  pessi- 
mistic, 15 ;  charity  and  justice,  16 ; 
the  need  of  a  clear  principle,  17; 
disadvantages  of  existing  confu- 
sion, 17;  the  principle  of  the 
standard  of  living,  19;  illustra- 
tions: sanitation,  public  educa- 
tion, 19;  voluntary  agencies,  20; 
able-bodied  not  to  be  supported ,  21 ; 
charitable  gifts  and  legacies  com- 
pared, 22;  relief  for  those  unable 
to  maintain  the  standard,  22;  dis- 
ciplinary measures,  23;  necessity 
for  discrimination,  23 ;  the  funda- 
mental and  comprehensive  prin- 
ciple of  relief,  24 ;  not  a  substitute 
for  wages,  24 ;  charitable  acts  to 
be  judged  by  their  effect,  25 ;  re- 
lief may  pauperize,  but  this  danger 


INDEX 


485 


not  to  be  exaggerated,  25 ;  modern 
charity,  26 ;  new  conception  of  re- 
lief funds,  26 ;  modern  charity  and 
government,  27. 
See  also  Emergency  relief  measures. 

Evolution  and  charity,  6. 

Experience,  value  in  emergency  relief, 
457. 

Experimental  relief,  private  ^philan- 
thropy in,  129. 

Extradition  for  desertion,  139. 

FAMILIES,    THE    BREAKING    UP    OF, 

97-106. 
See   BREAKING  UP    OF   FAMILIES, 

THE. 
FAMILIES  AT  HOME,  THE  RELIEF  OF, 

73-79. 
See  RELIEF  OF  FAMILIES  AT  HOME, 

THE. 

FAMILY  DESERTION,  135-143. 
Some  exceptional  cases,  136 ;  age  and 
economic  position  of  deserters, 
138;  lack  of  moral  responsibility, 
138;  causes,  139;  existing  laws, 
139;  National  Conference  resolu- 
tions on  extradition,  139;  relief 
and  desertion,  140;  types  of  de- 
serters, 141 ;  analysis  of  deserted 
families  in  Boston,  141;  Illinois 
law,  142 ;  Pennsylvania  law,  143. 

Family,  the  unit  of  social  organiza- 
tion, 96,  97. 

Farm  colony  for  inebriates,  149. 

Feeble-minded,     removal    from    the 
almshouse,  130. 

Financial  problem  of  the  hospitals,  39. 

FlRE  AND  FLOOD  IN   PATERSON,  405- 

411,  458. 

The  fire  in  February,  1902,  405; 
Central  Relief  Committee  organ- 
ized, 405;  offers  of  outside  as- 
sistance declined,  405;  an  office 
opened,  406;  relief  orders  given, 
407;  discontent,  407;  change  in 
method,  407;  end  of  the  period  of 
distress,  408;  the  first  flood,  in 
March,  408;  expenditures,  408; 
the  second  flood,  in  October,  1903, 
409;  untrained  investigators,  409; 
substitution  of  cash  for  relief  or- 
ders, 410;  relief  given,  411. 
Fitler,  Edwin  H.,  386. 


Folks,  Homer,  119,  120,  131,  278. 

Folks,  Ralph,  60. 

Food  as  an  element  in  the  standard  of 

living,  29,  30. 

Food,  fuel,  and  clothing,  Distribution 
in  times  of  disaster,  376,  389,  422. 
Food  market  in  Indianapolis,  423. 
Foraker,  J.  B.,  393. 
Foundling  asylum  and  illegitimacy,  91. 
Fox,  John,  446,  447. 
Fraud,  prevention  of. 

See  Deception. 
Fresh-air  agencies,  44. 
Frothingham,  Edward,  322,  355. 
Fulton,  John,  386. 
Funds  for  relief,  311,  312. 

New  conception  of,  26. 

See  also  Emergency  relief  measures. 

Garrett,  Philip  C.,  301. 

Girls,  homeless,  85. 

Gladstone,  William  E.,  272. 

Goodwin,  A.  G.,  322. 

Gould,  E.  R.  L.,  72. 

Gould,  Jay,  365. 

Government  and  modern  charity,  27. 

Haas,  George  C.  F.,  449. 

Hadley,  Arthur  Twining,  269. 

Hale,  George  Silsbee,  325,  332. 

Hamilton,  David  Stuart,  405,  409. 

"Handbook  on  the  Prevention  of 
Tuberculosis,"  58,  67. 

Hanna,  H.  H.,  413. 

Harburger,  Julius,  447. 

Harburger,  L.  W.,  447. 

Harrison,  Benjamin,  384. 

Harrison,  Thomas  S.,  301. 

Hartley,  Robert  M.,  277,  316. 

Hastings,  Gen.  Daniel  H.,  387,  394. 

Health  insurance,  127. 

Hebberd,  Robert  W.,  278. 

Hebrew  charities,  324,  467. 

Henderson,  C.  Hanford,  47. 

Heischman,  John  J.,  447. 

Hewitt,  Erskine,  446,  447. 

Hill,  A.  A.,  447,  459. 

Historical  interpretation  of  the  Eng- 
lish Poor  Law,  275-277. 

Historical  survey  of  relief,  269-357. 

Hoffman,  H.  W.,  447. 

Holden,  Charles  C.  P.,  363. 

Homeless  boys  and  men,  83,  84. 


486 


INDEX 


Homes  for  aged,  98. 

Relation  to  almshouse,  99,  132. 
Hopkins,  Mark,  79. 
Hospitals,  problem  of  the,  38. 
Effect  on  family  life,  101. 
Relation  to  almshouse,  131. 
and  medical  instruction,  41. 
Housing  conditions  in  New  York  City, 

63. 

in  other  large  cities,  63,  64. 
in  smaller  cities,  67. 
HOUSING  PROBLEM,  THE,  62-72,  320. 
Urgency  of  the  question  of  rent  for 
the  individual,    62;    early   social 
recognition  of  the  necessity  for  a 
minimum  standard  of  shelter,  62; 
acute  evils  in  New  York  City  and 
elsewhere,     63 ;      the    Tenement 
House  Commission   of    1900,  63; 
conditions  in  Buffalo,  64 ;  the  new 
law  and  the  Tenement-House  De- 
partment, 65 ;  enforcement  of  the 
law,    66;    an    incipient    housing 
problem  in  other  cities,  67;  early 
restrictive  legislation  needed,  68; 
other  forces   making    for    better 
housing  and  sanitary  conditions, 
70 ;  the  place  for  relief,  71 ;  sources 
of  information,  72. 
Howard,  L.  O.,  51. 
Huber,  John  Y.,  386. 
Humanitarian  movement  in  England, 

274. 
Hunter,  Robert,  72. 

Idiots,  removal  from  the  almshouse, 
130. 

Illinois  law  on  desertion,  142. 
on  employment  agencies,  338. 

Immigrant. 
See  IMMIGRATION. 

IMMIGRATION,  162-170. 
Colonist  and  immigrant,  162 ;  immi- 
gration laws,  163;  greater  diffi- 
culties of  investigation,  and  fewer 
resources  for  relief,  164;  discour- 
agement of  emigration,  165;  the 
arguments  for  unrestricted  immi- 
gration, 165;  effect  of  low  grade 
immigration  on  the  standard  of 
living,  167;  the  sweatshop,  167; 
immigration  and  dependence,  168; 
distribution  of  immigrants,  169; 


assimilation  and    transportation, 
169. 

Improper  guardianship  as  a  cause  for 
removal  of  children,  103. 

Incorrigibility  as  a  cause  for  removal 
of  children,  104. 

Indemnity  principle  in  emergency  re- 
lief, 379,  454,  462. 

Industrial  changes  and  relief,  13. 

Industrial  depression  equivalent  to  an 
emergency,  412. 

INDUSTRIAL  DISPLACEMENT,  151-161. 
Lack  of  employment  as  a  cause  of 
distress,  151;  complicated  with 
other  causes,  152 ;  employment  as 
a  substitute  for  relief,  153;  Mr. 
McLean's  analysis  of  case  records, 
153;  causes  of  displacement,  155; 
occupations,  157 ;  age,  157 ;  period 
of  idleness,  158;  business  refer- 
ences, 158;  period  of  last  employ- 
ment, 160;  relief  and  unemploy- 
ment, 161. 

INDUSTRIAL  DISTRESS  IN  NEW  YORK 
AND  INDIANAPOLIS,  WINTER  OF 
1893-1894,  412-431,  458,  460. 
Hard  times  an  emergency,  412;  the 
East  Side  Relief  Work  Committee, 
413;  local  membership,  413;  pub- 
licity avoided,  413;  employment 
only  provided,  414;  street  clean- 
ing, 414 ;  tailor  shops  opened,  414 ; 
work  supplied  to  women  in  their 
homes,  415;  renovation  of  tene- 
ments, 416;  expenditures,  417; 
notable  features  of  the  work,  418 ; 
artificial  employment  not  justifi- 
able in  normal  times,  419;  the 
Commercial  Club  Relief  Commit- 
tee of  Indianapolis,  419;  public 
meetings  of  the  unemployed,  420; 
special  committee  appointed,  420; 
plans,  421;  employment  bureau 
opened,  421 ;  cooperation  with  the 
Charity  Organization  Society,  422 ; 
increase  of  distress,  422;  appeal 
for  funds,  422;  the  food  market 
opened,  423;  management,  423; 
the  ration,  425 ;  coal  and  shoes  sup- 
plied, 425;  employment  on  public 
works,  426 ;  disposition  to  avoid 
work,  427;  difficult  problems,  428; 
the  work  test  for  wcmen,  429 ;  rent 


INDEX 


487 


not  paid  by  the  committee,  430; 
few  evictions,  4:30 ;  gradual  closing 
of  the  emergency  work,  431. 
Industrial  revolution,  271. 
Industrial  schools,  335,  341. 
Insane,  removal  from  the  almshouse, 

129. 
Institutional  care  for  adult  dependents 

as  a  task  for  the  state,  128. 
Institutional  population  of  children, 

checks  to  excessive,  108. 
Institutions  for  children,  102,  105,  108. 
Improvements  in,  118. 
Objections  to,  116. 
Insurance,  relation  to  relief,  334. 
INTEMPERANCE,  144-150,  285,  286,  291, 
'  292. 

Destitution  due  to  intemperance, 
144 ;  other  evils,  145 ;  prohibition, 
145;  local  option,  147;  total  ab- 
stinence, 147;  alcoholism  a  dis- 
ease, 148;  homes  for  inebriates, 
148;  proposal  that  inebriates  be 
judicially  sentenced  to  a  hospital 
until  cured,  or  to  care  of  a  pro- 
bation officer,  149;  relief  and 
intemperance,  149;  intemperate 
mothers,  150. 
International  Conference  of  Charities, 

119,  149,  254. 

Investigation,  23,  345,  349,  351. 
in  emergency  relief,  459. 
in  hospitals  for  the  insane,  129. 
in  placing-out  of  children,  119. 
in  relief  in  normal  times,  171. 
not  a  necessary  evil,  174. 
of  admissions  to  and  discharges  from 

almshouses,  100. 
Purpose,  in  relief  work,  173. 

Jesup,  Morris  K.,  446. 

Johnson,  Tom  L.,  389,  459. 

JOHNSTOWN    FLOOD,    THE,    382-404, 

457,  458,  459,  460,  461,  464,  465. 
Extent  of  the  calamity,  382;  first 
meeting  of  survivors,  383;  relief 
corps  from  Pittsburg,  383 ;  contri- 
butions, 384;  local  committees 
formed,  385;  the  Flood  Relief 
Commission,  385;  the  Pittsburg 
Relief  Committee  in  charge,  386; 
military  administration,  387;  pub- 
lic spirit  of  the  people,  389;  the 


Finance  Committee,  389;  the  Board 
of  Inquiry,  389 ;  difficulties  in  the 
distribution  of  food  and  clothing, 
389;  provision  for  shelter,  393; 
restoration  of  municipal  and  busi- 
ness activities,  394;  per  capita 
distribution  of  cash,  395;  absurd 
plans  of  the  Flood  Commission, 
397 ;  first  distribution  of  cash  on 
the  basis  of  needs  and  losses,  398 ; 
final  cash  distribution,  400 ;  provi- 
sion for  widows  and  orphans,  403; 
aid  rendered  by  special  agencies, 
403 ;  summary  of  receipts  and  ex- 
penditures, 404. 

Justice  and  charity,  16. 

Justice,  William  W.,  301. 

Kaufmann,  Louis  W.,  447. 

Kelley,  Florence,  42. 

Kellogg,  Charles  D.,  300,  302,  343,  345. 

Kellogg,  D.  O.,  300. 

Kindergartens,  335,  340. 

Kraeling,  E.  C.  J.,  447. 

Kremer,  J.  B.,  386. 

Lawrence,  Amos,  332. 

Laws  regulating    employment   agen- 
cies, 338. 
relating  to  desertion,  139, 142,  143. 

Leffingwell,  Albert,  254. 

Legacies   compared  with     charitable 
gifts,  22. 

Lend-a-Hand,  304. 

LESSONS  TO  BE  LEARNED  FROM 
EMERGENCY  RELIEF  WORK  IN 
DISASTERS,  457^468. 
Situations  reviewed  typical  of  all 
emergencies,  457;  essentials  to 
good  work,  457 ;  experienced  and 
competent  workers,  457 ;  accurate 
knowledge  of  the  circumstances  of 
claimants,  459 ;  acquaintance  with 
local  conditions,  459 ;  value  of  de- 
tailed reports,  460;  the  indemnity 
principle,  462;  provision  for  em- 
ployment, 463;  the  proper  use  of 
military  aid,  464 ;  the  restoration 
of  ordinary  activities,  465 ;  the  use 
of  money  in  emergency  relief, 
465;  the  importance  of  local  co- 
operation, 467;  the  preservation 
of  a  sense  of  proportion,  468. 


488 


INDEX 


Life  insurance,  94. 
Literature  of  charity,  10,  316. 
Loans,  iu  times  of  emergency  distress, 

440. 

self-support,  45. 
Loch,  Jacob  W.,  447 
Lodging-houses    for    homeless    men, 

municipal,  132. 
Low,  Seth,  413. 
Lowell,  Mrs.  Charles  Russell,  356,  357, 

413, 416. 

Mackay,  Thomas,  269,  310. 
McCarthy,  Justin,  274. 
McClellan,  George  B.,  445,  446. 
McCreery,  William,  382. 
McCulloch,  Oscar  C.,  343. 
McLean,  Francis  H.,  153. 
Malaria  as  a  cause  of  dependence,  51. 
Malthus,  T.  B.,  273. 
Manchester  school,  273. 
Married  couples  with  children,  88. 
Married  couples  without  children,  87. 
Marshall,  Alfred,  270,  271. 
Martinique  disaster,  384,  458,  468. 
Marvin,  S.  S.,  386. 
Mason,  R.  B.,  363. 
Mather,  Cotton,  325. 
Medical  instruction,  hospitals  and,  41. 
a  proper  charge  on  the  community, 

48. 

Medical  organizations,  49. 
Medical  treatment  for  alcoholism,  150. 
Men,  relief  of  single,  81. 
Mendicancy,  suppression  of,  290,  292, 

301,  322. 
Mendicants,  73,  82,  84,  281,  289,  290, 

305. 

Midwifery  in  New  York  City,  58. 
Military  aid  in  disasters,  364,  387,  464. 
Military  government  in  Cuba,  14,  51. 
Mill,  John  Stuart,  12. 
Miller,  Reuben,  386. 
Modern  charity,  26. 
Money  in  emergency  relief,  proper  use 

of,  465. 
Mosquitoes  and  malaria,  51. 

and  yellow  fever,  51,  52. 
Mother  with  one  child,  89. 
Mulry,  Thomas  M.,  446,  447,  451. 
Municipal  activities,  restoration  after 

the  Johnstown  flood,  394,  465. 

National  Conference  of  Charities  and 


Correction,  339,  340,  341,  343,  345, 
478. 

Resolutions  on  desertion,  139. 
Rules  in  regard  to  charitable  trans- 
portation, 207. 

National  Conference  of  Jewish  Chari- 
ties, 207. 

New  York  State  Conference  of  Chari- 
ties and  Correction,  68. 

Nicholls,  Sir  George,  269. 

Occupations  of  displaced  employees, 

157. 

Ogden,  Robert  C.,  386,  401. 
Orders  on  dealers,  relief  given  by,  406. 
Orphan  children,  80,  104. 
Outdoor  relief, 
See  PRIVATE  OUTDOOR  RELIEF  IN 

AMERICA. 
PUBLIC      OUTDOOR     RELIEF      IN 

AMERICA. 
Overseers  of  the  poor,  286,  287,  298, 

303,  304,  305,  307,  308,  310. 
Owen,  Robert,  273. 

Parental  rights  in  relation  to  religious 
instruction  of  dependent  children, 
111. 

Parliamentary  committees,  investiga- 
tions of,  270. 

Pauper  type,  the,  75,  280. 

Pauperism,    comparatively    little    in 

America,  279. 
Dependence  distinguished  from,  132, 

134. 
See  also  Causes  of  poverty. 

Pauperization,  danger  of,  25,  174. 

Peabody,  Ephraim,  322. 

Peel,  Sir  Robert,  273. 

Pennsylvania  law  on  desertion,  143. 

Pensions  for  aged  single  women,  86. 

Personal  element  in  relief  work,  315. 

Personal  reward  for  charitable  acts, 
12. 

Pettee,  Benjamin,  304,  305,  306. 

Physicians  and  social  reform,  47. 
Relief  work  done  by,  333. 

Placing-out,  high  standards  in,  119. 
Objections  to,  112. 

Police  as  disbursers  of  public  outdoor 
relief,  298,  299. 

Political  element  in  outdoor  relief,  306. 

Poor,  good  qualities  of  the,  332. 


INDEX 


489 


Poor  laws  of  Massachusetts,  283. 
Of  New  York,  285,  287. 

Primitive   man,  attitude    toward  de- 
pendents, 11. 

Principles  of  relief,  10,  3-181. 

Private  charity. 
See  Charity,  private. 

PRIVATE  OUTDOOR  RELIEF  IN  AMER- 
ICA, 314-357. 

Early  relief  societies,  314;  review 
of  the  situation  in  New  York  City 
in  1842-1843, 315 ;  the  New  York  As- 
sociation for  Improving  the  Condi- 
tion of  the  Poor,  its  organization, 
316;  principles,  317;  and  scope, 
319 ;  the  Boston  Provident  Associa- 
tion, 322;  the  Chicago  Relief  and 
Aid  Society,  323;  the  society  of 
St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  324 ;  Hebrew 
charities,  324;  Protestant  church 
charities,  325;  relation  of  the 
church  to  relief,  329;  relief 
agencies  for  special  classes,  330; 
unorganized  individual  charity, 
331;  the  charitable  spirit  in  pro- 
fessional and  business  relations, 
333;  relation  of  insurance  to  re- 
lief, 334 ;  free  employment  agen- 
cies, 335;  day  nurseries,  339; 
kindergartens  and  industrial 
schools,  340;  societies  for  the 
promotion  of  small  savings,  341 ; 
charity  organization  societies,  342 ; 
their  origin,  343 ;  and  methods  of 
work,  345,  viz. :  investigation, 
345;  cooperation,  347;  volunteer 
personal  service,  347 ;  efficient  and 
adequate  relief,  349;  danger  of 
demoralization,  351;  opposition 
encountered,  352;  value  of  the 
registration  bureau,  353 ;  increase 
in  the  proportion  of  volunteer  ser 
vice,  354 ;  scope  of  a  charity  organ- 
ization society's  work,  355 ;  func- 
tion of  the  district  committee,  356. 

Private  practice  of  physician,  socia] 
value,  47,  61. 

PROBLEMS,  TYPICAL  RELIEF,  185-266. 
See  TYPICAL  RELIEF  PROBLEMS. 

Professional  skill,  in  institutions  and 
in  placing-out,  compared,  114. 

Progressive  society,  relief  in  a,  14. 

Prohibition  of  alcoholic  beverages,  145 


Prospect  Union  Review,  322. 

Protestant  church  charities,  326. 

Psychopathic  hospitals,  101. 

PUBLIC  OUTDOOR  RELIEF  IN  AMER- 
ICA, 278-313. 

Comparatively  little  pauperism  in 
America,  278;  variations  in  relief 
systems  of  the  states,  280;  pub- 
lic outdoor  relief  prevalent,  281 ; 
cities  in  which  little  or  none  is 
given,  281 ;  the  almshouse  the 
fundamental  institution  in  Amer- 
ica, 282 ;  Quincy  report  of  1821  on 
the  Pauper  Laws  of  Massachu- 
setts, 283;  Yates  report  of  1824, 
on  provision  for  the  poor  in  New 
York,  285,  287 ;  on  the  poor  laws 
of  other  states,  286;  existing  laws 
condemned,  288;  reforms  recom- 
mended, 289 ;  causes  of  pauperism, 
291;  remedies  suggested  by  the 
Society  for  the  Suppression  of 
Pauperism,  1821-1824,  292;  results 
of  early  criticisms,  293 ;  public  out- 
door relief  abolished  in  New  York 
City,  293;  in  Brooklyn,  294;  in 
Washington,  298;  prohibited  in 
Baltimore,  300 ;  discontinued 
in  Philadelphia,  300;  maintained 
in  Boston,  303;  arguments  for, 
305 ;  arguments  against,  308. 

Public  work  in  emergency  relief,  422, 
426. 

Publicity  avoided  in  emergency  work, 
413,  436,  437. 

Quarterly  Charity  Lecture  of  Boston, 

325. 
Quincy,  Josiah,  282,  283,  284. 

Rsegener,  Louis  C.,  447. 

Rations  distributed  in  times  of  emer- 
gency distress,  illustrations,  373, 
425. 

Reeder,  R.  R.,  116. 

Reeves,  Francis  B.,  386,  401. 

REFORM  OF  THE  ENGLISH  POOR  LAW, 

THE,  269-277. 

Influence  of  the  reform,  269 ;  report 
of  the  Commission,  269;  its  domi- 
nating idea,  269;  not  a  detached 
episode,  270 ;  commercial  and  eco- 
nomic conditions,  270;  industrial 


490 


INDEX 


changes,  271;  trade-union  move- 
ment, 272;  intellectual  and  moral 
movements,  273;  reform  of  the 
criminal  law,  273;  removal  of 
religious  disabilities,  274;  the 
humanitarian  movement,  274 ; 
extension  of  the  suffrage,  274; 
transference  of  the  balance  of 
power,  275 ;  an  opportune  moment 
for  discontinuing  liberal  public 
relief,  275;  historical  interpreta- 
tion, 277. 

Registration,  345,  353. 
Relief  and  desertion,  95. 

and  the  housing  problem,  71. 

and  immigration,  165. 

and  intemperance,  149. 

and  scientific  discoveries,14. 

and  unemployment,  161. 

as  a  social  policy,  4,  12,  13. 
RELIEF  AS  MODIFIED  BY  CONSTITU- 
TION OF  FAMILY,  80-96. 

Orphan  children,  80;  unmarried 
man  or  widower  without  chil- 
dren, 81;  vagrancy,  82;  care  of 
homeless  men,  83;  unmarried 
woman  or  widow  without  chil- 
dren, 85;  temporary  shelters,  85; 
pensions,  86;  reformatory  disci- 
pline, 87;  married  couples  with- 
out children,  87 ;  the  normal  fam- 
ily, 88;  industrial  training,  88; 
aged  couples,  89;  widow  or  de- 
serted wife  with  one  child,  89; 
unmarried  mother  with  child,  90; 
agencies  for  finding  employ- 
ment for  mother  with  children, 
90;  the  foundling  asylum,  91; 
widower  with  children,  91 ;  widow 
with  children,  93;  responsibility 
of  the  family  and  of  society,  96. 
Relief  by  churches,  74,  75,  323. 

by  organized  charities,  see  Charity. 

by  private  individuals,  74,  331. 

Definition  of  the  problem,  3,  5. 
RELIEF,  DISCRIMINATION  IN,  171-176. 

See  DISCRIMINATION  IN  RELIEF. 
Relief  from  the  public  treasury,  75, 
281. 

See  also  Charity,  public. 
Relief  funds. 

See  Funds. 

in  aid  of  wages,  24. 


in  a  progressive  society,  14, 15. 
not  support  for  able-bodied,  21. 

RELIEF  OF  FAMILIES  AT  HOME,  THK, 

73-79. 

Relief  at  home  distinguished  from 
institutional  care,  73;  distinction 
between  "  full  support "  and  "  par- 
tial support,"  73;  almsgiving,  73; 
by  churches,  74;  by  private  indi- 
viduals, 74;  the  self-dependent 
and  the  pauper,  74;  the  depend- 
ent, 75 ;  public  relief  and  ordinary 
almsgiving  alike  usually  harmful, 
75;  general  relief  from  churches 
also  inefficient,  76;  organized 
charity,  76;  nomenclature  and 
form  of  organization,  77;  the 
charity  organization  society,  78; 
law  and  love,  79. 

Relief,  principles  of,  10,  3-181. 

RELIEF  PROBLEMS,  TYPICAL,  185-266. 
See  TYPICAL  RELIEF  PROBLEMS. 

Relief  societies,  early,  314. 
For  special  nationalities  or  classes, 

330. 
See  also  Societies. 

Relief  systems  in  America,  variation 
in,  280. 

Relief  to  be  judged  by  its  effect,  25. 

Religion  and  charity,  11,  12. 

Religious  disabilities,  removal  of,  274. 

Religious  instruction  in    institutions 
for  children,  110. 

Replacement  of  the  means  of  liveli- 
hood, 379. 

Reports  of  emergency  work,  value  of, 
460. 

RESTATEMENT     AND     CONCLUSION, 

PART  I,  177-181. 

Four  stages  in  development  of  chari- 
table impulse :  the  desire  to  allevi- 
ate obvious  distress,  177 ;  the  desire 
to  relieve  adequately,  178 ;  the  de- 
sire to  prevent  future  dependence, 
179 ;  the  determination  to  destroy 
the  social  causes  of  pauperism, 
181 ;  the  social  ideal,  181. 

Richmond,  Mary  E.,  140,  311,  343,  355. 

Ridder,  Herman,  446,  450. 

Riis,  Jacob  A.,  72. 

Rose,  J.  H.,  270,  275. 

Royal  commissions,  investigations  of, 
270. 


INDEX 


491 


Sanatoria  for  consumptives,  55. 

Sanborn,  F.  B.,  305. 

Sanitary    measures    necessitated    by 
disaster,  380,  386,  395. 

Sanitation,  social  significance,  37,  47, 

50,  61. 
See  also  Housing  problem. 

Savings,  small. 
See  Thrift. 

Sayles,  MaryB.,  72. 

Scharmann,  H.  B.,  446,  447,  450. 

Schiff ,  Jacob  H.,  446,  454. 

Schmittberger,  Max  F.,  447. 

Scholarships  as  a  form  of  relief  for 
dependent  widows,  44. 

Scientific  discoveries  and  relief,  14. 

Scott,  James  B.,  383,  386,  388,  391. 

Scribner,  Anna  Townsend,  341. 

Self-support,  restoration  to,  after  a 
disaster,  379. 

Self-support  loans,  45. 

Senile  patients,  boarding-out  of,  101. 

Senior,  Max,  480. 

Shaw,  Albert,  431. 

Shaw,  Mrs.  Quincy  A.,  340. 

Shelter  in  times  of  disaster,  problem 
of,  377,  393,  408,  409. 

Shelters  for  homeless,  85. 

Sheridan,  General  Philip  H.,  364. 

Sick  and  disabled,  provision  for, 
in  normal  times,  38,  54. 
in  times  of  disaster,  380,  387,  467. 

Sickness  as  a  cause  of  dependence, 
50. 

"SLOCUM"  DISASTER,  THE,  138,445- 

456,  457,  458,  459,  460. 
The  excursionists,  445;  economic 
character  of  the  families  affected, 
446;  the  mayor's  proclamation, 
446;  organization  of  the  commit- 
tee, 447;  the  fund  an  expression 
of  sympathy,  447;  fraudulent  ap- 
plications, 448;  office  force,  448; 
assistance  of  organized  charities, 
448;  work  of  the  committee,  449; 
policy  in  regard  to  funeral  bills, 
449;  provision  for  persons  left 
dependent,  450;  the  unappro- 
priated balance,  450;  loss  of  life 
and  injuries  due  to  the  disaster, 
451 ;  economic  loss,  452 ;  effect  on 
the  composition  of  families,  452; 
analysis  of  aid  given,  453;  expla- 


nation of  liberal  policy,  454 ;  sum- 
mary, 456. 
Smith,  Zilpha  D.,  308. 

SOCIAL  DEBTORS,  THE  PROBLEM,  3-9. 

Relief  problem  defined,  3;  genesis 
of  the  social  problem,  4;  not  re- 
cruited from  any  one  group,  5; 
does  not  affect  general  distribu- 
tion of  wealth,  5;  evolution  and 
charity,  6;  analysis  of  book,  7; 
purpose  of  illustrative  cases,  8; 
good  qualities  of  the  poor,  9. 
Social  ideal,  the,  181. 
Societies,  associations,  committees, 
and  other  organizations:  — 

Armenian  Benevolent  Association  of 
Boston,  330. 

Associated  Charities  of  Boston,  141, 
305,  307,  308,  323. 

Associated  Charities  of  the  District 
of  Columbia,  299,  391. 

Association  for  Improving  the  Con- 
dition of  the  Poor,  Baltimore,  321, 
437. 

Association  for  Improving  the  Con- 
dition of  the  Poor,  New  York,  185, 
315,  316,  336,  354,  448,  469. 

Baron  de  Hirsch  Fund,  331. 

Beneficial  Association  of  the  Mary- 
land Line,  330. 

Board  of  Inquiry,  Johnstown,  389, 
397,  459. 

Bureau  of  Dependent  Children,  New 
York  City,  264,  265. 

Charity  for  Aiding  Mothers  and  In- 
fants, 91. 

Charity  League,  Paterson,  405,  406. 

Charity  Organization  Society  of 
Baltimore,  432,  438,  441. 

Charity  Organization  Society  of  In- 
dianapolis, 421. 

Charity  Organization  Society  of 
London,  76. 

Charity  Organization  Society  of 
Newport,  341. 

Charity  Organization  Society  of  New 
York  City,  65,  103,  153,  185,  196, 
258,  260,  261,  342,  357,  413,  447, 
448. 

Charity  Organization  Society  of 
Paterson,  408. 

Chicago  Institute  for  the  Study  of 
Infectious  Diseases,  50. 


492 


INDEX 


Chicago  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  321, 
323,  354,  361,  367. 

Children's  Aid  Society,  Johnstown, 
392. 

Children's  Aid  Society  of  Philadel- 
phia, 91. 

Children's  Aid  Society  of  Western 
Pennsylvania,  403. 

Church  Army,  329. 

Citizens'  Relief  Committee, 
of  Baltimore,  432. 
of  Chicago,  366,  377,  393. 
of  New  York,  385,  445. 
of  Paterson,  405,  409. 
of  Philadelphia,  385. 
of  Pittsburg,  382. 

City  Homes  Association  of  Chicago, 
72. 

Commercial  Club  Relief  Committee, 
Indianapolis,  412,  419,  460. 

Committee  of  Fifteen,  72. 

Committee  on  the  Prevention  of  Tu- 
berculosis of  the  New  York  Char- 
ity Organization  Society,  58. 

Cooper  Union  Labor  Bureau,  336. 

Department  of  Charities  and  Cor- 
rection of  Baltimore,  434. 

Department  of  Charities  and  Cor- 
rection of  Philadelphia,  303. 

Department  of  Public  Charities  of 
New  York  City,  103,  191,  195,  199, 
225,  294. 

East  Side  Relief  Work  Committee 
of  New  York  City,  412,  431,  463. 

Fatherless  and  Widows  Society, 
Boston,  314. 

Federated  Charities  of  Baltimore, 
437,  443. 

Federation  of  Jewish  Charities, 
324. 

Flood  Relief  Commission,  383,  385, 
460,466. 

French  Benevolent  Society, 
of  Boston,  314. 
of  New  York,  314. 

Friendly  Inn,  Baltimore,  433. 

Friendly  Inn,  Indianapolis,  429. 

German  Society,  187,  314. 

Hebrew  Benevolent  Society  of  Bal- 
timore, 436,  443. 

Home  for  Aged  and  Infirm,  New 
York,  132. 

Housing  Problem  Committee  of  the 


Cleveland  Chamber  of  Commerce, 
72. 

Industrial  Aid  Society  for  the  Pre- 
vention of  Pauperism,  335. 

Italian  Benevolent  Society  of  New 
York  City,  330. 

Johnstown  Finance  Committee,  388. 

Ladies'  Christian  Union,  Chicago, 
374. 

Ladies'  Industrial  Aid  Society  of 
St.  John's  Church,  Chicago,  374. 

Ladies'  Relief  and  Aid  Society,  Chi- 
cago, 374. 

Ladies'  Society  of  the  Home  of  the 
Friendless,  Chicago,  374. 

Ladies'  Society  of  Park  Avenue 
Church,  Chicago,  374. 

National  Association  for  the  Study 
and  Prevention  of  Tuberculosis,  58. 

New  England  Society,  74. 

New  Jersey  Tenement-House  Com- 
mission of  1904,  72. 

New  York  City  Mission  and  Tract 
Society,  448. 

New  York  Committee  for  the  Pre- 
vention of  Tuberculosis,  58. 

New  York  Employment  Society,  336. 

New  York  Orphan  Asylum,  116. 

New  York  State  Board  of  Charities, 
103,  283,  343,  345. 

Octavia  Hill  Association  of  Phila- 
delphia, 72. 

Penny  Provident  Fund  of  the  New 
York  Charity  Organization  So- 
ciety, 342. 

Poor  Law  Commission  of  1832,  269, 
270,  275. 

Provident  Association,  Boston,  321. 
322,  323,  354. 

Provident  Relief  Fund,  76. 

Red  Cross  Society,  American  Na- 
tional, 392,  403,  461. 

Rockefeller  Institute,  50. 

St.  Andrew's  Society,  208,  314. 

St.  Bartholomew's  Church,  New 
York  City,  326. 

St.  George's  P.  E.  Church,  New 
York  City,  326. 

St.  George's  Society,  74. 

St.  Mark's  Evangelical  Church,  New 
York  City,  445,  448,  449,  450. 

St.  Paul's  P.  E.  Church,  Paterson 
405. 


INDEX 


493 


Salvation  army,  223,  248,  263,  265, 
329,  437. 

Sanitary  Relief  Association  of  Jack- 
sonville, Fla.,  384,  460. 

Savings  Society,  341. 

Scots  Charitable  Society  of  Boston, 
314. 

Slocum  Relief  Committee,  445,  446, 
459,  460. 

Society  for  Organizing  Charity, 
Philadelphia,  139,  141,  300,  301, 
302,  303. 

Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Cru- 
elty to  Children,  261. 

Society  for  the  Prevention  of  Pau- 
perism, 288,  291,  292. 

Society  for  the  Relief  of  Distress, 
London,  76. 

Society  for  the  Relief  of  Poor  Wid- 
ows with  Small  Children,  314. 

Society  of  St.  Vincent  de  Paul,  324, 
338,  413,  436,  443,  451,  467. 

State  Charities  Aid  Association,  New 
York,  91,  295. 

State  Free  Employment  Bureau, 
Maryland,  435. 

Tenement-House  Commission  of 
1900,  63. 

Tenement-House  Committee  of  the 
New  York  Charity  Organization 
Society,  58,  65. 

Tenement-House  Department,  New 
York  City,  65,  72. 

Trinity  Church,  New  York  City,  326. 

Union  Benevolent  Society,  Johns- 
town, 392. 

United  Hebrew  Charities  of  New 
York  City,  59,  324,  325,  338,  418. 

Visiting  Nurse  Association  of  Balti- 
more, 441. 

Volunteers,  The,  329. 

Widows'  Society,  187,  314. 
Spencer,  Charles,  301. 
Standard  of  living,  as  a  basis  for  the 
general  principle  of  relief,  19. 

and  disciplinary  measures,  23. 

Effect  of  immigration  on,  167. 
STANDARD  OF  LIVING,  THE,  29-46. 

Enumeration  of  elements:  burial, 
30;  shelter,  30;  diet,  30;  furni- 
ture, 31 ;  clothing,  32 :  pure  water, 
clean  streets,  etc.,  32 ;  medical  at- 
tendance, 33;  recreation,  33;  in- 


come necessary  to  maintain,  34; 
application  to  charitable  relief,  35 ; 
changes  in  the  standard :  decrease 
in  death-rate,  36 ;  hospital  care  for 
the  sick,  38;  financial  problem, 
39;  hospital  hotel  suggested,  39; 
greater  economy  of  hospital  care, 
40 ;  hospitals  and  the  medical  pro- 
fession, 41;  liberal  and  discrimi- 
nating medical  relief,  41;  child 
labor,  42;  defective  and  diverse 
laws,  42;  an  effective  child  labor 
law,  42;  dependent  widows'  argu- 
ment, 43;  relief  by  pensions  or 
scholarships  as  a  supplement  to 
laws  restricting  child  labor,  44; 
fresh-air  agencies,  44;  self-sup- 
port loans,  45 ;  distinction  between 
relief  in  institutions  and  in  fami- 
lies, 46. 

State  Boards  of  Charities,  283. 

Stewart,  A.  T.,  381. 

Straubenmiller,  Gustav,  447,  450. 

Street  cleaning  as  emergency  employ- 
ment, 414. 

Sturgis,  F.  R.,  39. 

Subsidies  to  hospitals,  39. 
to  institutions  for  children,  108. 

Suffrage  reform  in  England,  274. 

Supplies  distributed  in  times  of  dis- 
aster, 376,  392,  425,  443,  465. 

Surplus,  social,  and  relief,  5,  7. 

Sweat-shops  as  the  result  of  the  pres- 
ence of  low-grade  labor,  167. 

Sympathy,  growth  of,  11. 

Tailor  shops  in  emergency  relief,  414. 

Taylor,  George,  363. 

Tenement-House  Law  of  1900,  65. 

"Tenement-House  Problem,"  67. 

Tenement-house  problem  in  American 

cities,  67,  68. 

Legislation  for  smaller  cities,  69. 
Sources  of  information  in  regard  to, 
72. 

Tenements,  renovation  of,  as  emer- 
gency employment,  416. 

Thrift,  agencies  for  the  promotion  of, 
335,341. 

Thursfield,  J.  R.,  274. 

Total  abstinence,  147. 

Trade-union    movement  in  England, 
272. 


494 


INDEX 


Transportation  in  emergency  relief, 

377,  443,  454. 
in  normal  times,  see  CHARITABLE 

TRANSPORTATION. 

of  immigrants,  170. 
Tuberculosis,  14. 

Movement    for    the  prevention  of, 
53,  58. 

Social  aspects,  56. 
Tucker,  Frank,  39,  469. 
TYPICAL  RELIEF  PROBLEMS,  185-266. 

Avallone,  Marcello,  250. 

Bacon,  William,  196. 

Beaumais,  Marie,  230. 

Bender,  John  and  Bridget,  229. 

Blake,  Grace,  246. 

Blockley,  Matilda,  243. 

Bonner,  Thomas  and  Cora,  227. 

Bowles,  Thomas  and  Jane,  210. 

Braddock,  Susan,  212. 

Bradshaw,  Henry  and  Florence,  207. 

Brady,  Frank  and  Ellen,  219. 

Brecken,  Margaret,  190. 

Brennan,  Sophie,  199. 

Bruce,  Emily,  226. 

Burden,  Caroline,  198. 

Burn,  Annie  and  John,  216. 

Byrnes,   Sarah  and   Theophrastus, 
227. 

Camaili,  Joseph  and  Johanna,  222. 

Campbell,  Peter  and  Agnes,  208. 

Carney,  Grace,  214. 

Caspar,  Mary,  201. 

Curran,  Patrick,  256. 

D'Arago,  Katharine,  260. 

Davis,  James,  256. 

De  Vaudremont,  Felix,  246. 

Dolan,  Thomas  and  Ann,  224. 

Donnerwald,   Arnold    and    Lizette, 
209. 

Doyer,  George  and  Clara,  243. 

Drake,  Samuel  and  Sarah,  232. 

Duncan,  Mary,  196. 

Dunn,  Edward  and  Caroline,  234. 

Friedrich,  Margaret,  185. 

Garrett,  John  and  Catharine,  233. 

Greenwood,  Arthur  H.,  248. 

Hagerman,  James,  259. 

Hardy,  Ferdinand,  226. 

Harrigan,  George  and  Annie,  211. 

Henderson,  William  and  Myrtle,  225. 

Hogan,  Jane,  241. 

Holton,  Alfred  and  Frances,  217. 


Jay,  John  and  Rachel,  231. 

Jennings,  Charles  and  Victorine,  240. 

Johnson,  Dave,  257. 

Jones,  John  and  Margaret,  227. 

Keenan,  Frank  and  Norah,  206. 

Kelley,  Michael  and  Ann,  233. 

Kemp,  Anna,  223. 

Kennedy,  Jane,  195. 

Koern,  Edward  and  Elizabeth,  225. 

Madison,  Henry  and  Martha,  240. 

Mahler,  Marie,  193. 

Muchmore,  William  and  Sarah,  245. 

Murphy,  Kate,  255. 

Nelson,  Charlotte,  200. 

Patrick,  John  and  Anna,  236. 

Peterson,  Horatio,  257. 

Piper,  Bertha,  249. 

Rahn,  Marie,  194. 

Rathgaber,  Georgiana,  199. 

Richards,  Kate,  223. 

Ringole,  Emma,  244. 

Rossi,  Attila  and  Vittoria,  218. 

Sampson,  C.  W.,  199. 

Schultz,  Frederick,  251. 

Sharp,  James,  200. 

Sheehan,  Mary,  191. 

Skidmore,  Ernest  and  Alice,  252. 

Sydney,  Philip,  203. 

Trow,  Ebenezer,  197. 

Way,  Theodore,  235. 

Webster,  Clara,  254. 

Wheeler,  Charles,  197. 

Williams,  John  and  Eliza,  239. 

Wilson,  Charlotte,  220. 

Young,  Kate,  214. 

Zed,  Albert  and  Mary. 

Unemployed,  the, 
in  ordinary  times,  see  INDUSTRIAL 

DISPLACEMENT. 

in  times  of  emergency  distress,  374, 

381,  387,  394,  435,  441,  442. 
See  also  INDUSTRIAL  DISTRESS. 
United  charities,  78. 
Unity  in  charitable  activities,  10. 
Unmarried  mother  with  child,  90. 
Unorganized    individual  charity,  74, 

331. 

Unrestricted  immigration, 
Arguments  against,  167. 
Arguments  for,  165. 
Untrained  investigators,  in  emergency 
relief,  409,  457. 


INDEX 


495 


Vagrants,   not  properly    inmates   of 

almshouses,  132. 

Van  Cortlandt,  Robert  A.,  446,  447. 
Vanderbilt,  William  K.,  365. 
Veiller,  Lawrence,  65,  72. 
Voluntary  associations,  origin  of,  11. 
Volunteer  service  in  relief  work,  319, 

322,  323,  345,  347,  354,  357. 

Wages,  relief  in  aid  of,  24. 
Warner,  Amos  G.,  282,  343. 
Webb,  Beatrice  and  Sidney,  272, 

273. 

Weeden,  William  B.,  63. 
Weinacht,  Richard,  447. 


Weller,  Charles  F.,  478. 
White,  Alfred  T.,  304. 
Widow  with  small  children,  93. 
Widower  with  family,  91. 
Wilson,  Anna  T.,  254. 
Wines,  F.  H.,  305. 
Winter  of  1893-1894. 

See  INDUSTRIAL  DISTRESS. 
Winthrop,  Robert  C.,  322. 
Women,  unmarried,  85. 
Work  test  in  emergency  relief,  427, 

429. 
Wright,  James  A.,  301. 

Yates,  J.  N.,  283,  285,  287. 


The  Care  of  Destitute,  Neglected,  and  Delin= 
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By  HOMER  FOLKS 

Commissioner  of  Public  Charities  of  the  City  of  New  York 
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to  the  public  wise  and  reliable  counsel." 

—  Professor  CHARLES  R.  HENDERSON  in  The  Yale  Review. 

Constructive  and  Preventive  Philanthropy 

By  JOSEPH  LEE 

Vice-President  of  the  Massachusetts  Civic  League 

With  an  Introduction  by  JACOB  A.   RIIS 

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—  G.  STANLEY  HALL. 

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Friendly  Visiting  among  the  Poor 

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The  Principles  of  Sociology 

AN  ANALYSIS  OF  PHENOMENA  OF  ASSOCIATION  AND  OF  SOCIAL 

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By  FRANKLIN  HENRY  QIDDINQS,  M.A. 

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Social  Population  and  on  Social  Constitution  are  among  the  best  in  the  book.  It  is  here 
that  the  method  of  Professor  Giddings  shows  itself  to  the  best  advantage.  The  problems 
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The  Elements  of  Sociology 

A  TEXT-BOOK  FOR  COLLEGES  AND  SCHOOLS 
By  FRANKLIN   HENRY  GIDDINGS,  M.A. 

Professor  of  Sociology  in  Columbia   University 
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conditions  and  essential  features  of  such  progress." 

—  Professor  H.  SlDGWiCK  in  The  Economic  Journal. 

11  Of  its  extreme  interest,  its  suggestiveness,  its  helpfulness  to  readers  to  whom  social 
questions  are  important,  but  who  have  not  time  or  inclination  for  special  study,  we  can 
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